


We Are Anomalies

by GoldenHeart19



Category: Smosh
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Corruption, Friendship, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rated M just in case, Violence, but not suPER graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 65,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23333446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenHeart19/pseuds/GoldenHeart19
Summary: For years, the government has hidden an agency that handles people of special interest. Deemed dangerous, the people have been hunted down and captured where they’re thrown in prison and tested for their capabilities. But something strange is going on in California. A string of murders; a place that seemingly fell off the map; people going missing in the middle of the night. Something strange, indeed. And only one group is in the middle of it all. And the Agency is determined to find them. But is there more than meets the eye?
Comments: 57
Kudos: 75





	1. The Things That Are Kept From Us

The United States government has not been afraid to keep secrets from the public. They have covered up illnesses, military operations, surveillance opportunities, and events that could be considered a crime. It’s not unusual for any government to keep a few things quiet. People generally forget about the less than perfect behavior demonstrated by their leaders because, in the end, their needs were met and they were happy. Things were no different in 1986. 

In ‘83, the United States began a program for a select portion of the population. A few months prior to the creation of the program, a man was arrested. This was nothing new… many people would be arrested in 1983. However, the confrontation was caught on camera by a reporter. The video showed the man, in handcuffs, levitate into the air and fly away after pushing a few of the officers.

Most of the public thought that the video was a hoax — that it was edited for somehow for publicity’s sake. However, many Senators believed that the man really did fly. So, they had people from the CIA look for this man and bring him in for questioning.

This man was the first ever recorded Anomaly. He was the jumpstart of the Shadow Program, because he not only revealed that he could fly, but there were other people like him. He named a few friends that couldn’t bleed, who could manipulate water, or who appeared to have superspeed. 

The beginning of the program was purely for study and understanding. The government asked a scientist to study the man — Harry Lemmon — and test his blood. Mr. Lemmon gave his consent and he was subjected to stamina, intelligence, and psychological tests. He spent about three years running on treadmills and working out, taking IQ tests, and doing Rorschach tests with a therapist. Harry had never complained or said that he wasn’t being treated like a normal person. He was always able to go home to his apartment unless he was needed for overnight testing.

In 1985, when they were able to study his DNA, the researchers found a probable cause of Lemmon’s abilities. A certain gene, one they’ve labeled as the Anomalous Gene, was turned on. For other people, the gene had been overlooked because it wasn’t active. 

The scientific discovery wasn’t the most shocking outcome of the Lemmon study. No… Harry was asked to describe his childhood so that the program could have an idea of what to look for. Harry did not have a plethora of happy memories. 

His abilities manifested when he was about ten. He was playing with his friends when he tripped. Harry said he held his hands out to catch himself, but he found that he was able to push on the air. Just before he hit the ground, he was suddenly flung into the air and on the roof. He never told his parents.

He said that his friends had been excited at first and would routinely ask him to demonstrate his powers after school. Harry had only ever been able to fly short distances; help his friends into trees or go to the roof in the middle of the night. He thought that would never change — he thought he could keep the secret from his parents. 

But one day, Harry was messing around with his friends. He told the researchers that he remembered feeling restless for a few days before everything happened. It started out normal, with Harry’s friends asking him to fly them up to the roof, but his friends wanted to see more. Harry remembered being overwhelmed. Their voices echoed in his head and he wished they would stop. Then, all of a sudden, he felt energy erupt within him. There was an explosion, similar to a strong gust of wind, and his friends were thrown back. One landed on his arm and Harry knew it was broken. 

The next thing he remembered, he said, was his friends running away, screaming. For the next couple of weeks, Harry would go to a friend’s house and ask if they were home, but one of their parents would say he was too tired or sick. Eventually, Harry was friendless and only met with glares or looks of fear. Whether the town believed the rumors or not, they knew that Fred Kicks had a broken arm and was blaming Harry. 

Harry said that at the age of sixteen, he left to go stay with an uncle in New York. He later moved to Arizona for work and never spoke of what happened in his childhood. He never told anyone, not even his girlfriend, that he had special abilities. The fewer people that knew, the better. 

And that is what he said to the researchers and senators that talked to him. He warned every supervisor that it would be a dangerous idea to tell the public that people like him existed. There would be two reactions. A person would react with fear; they would imprison every Anomaly and sentence them to death because they didn’t understand. The rest would be jealous; they would hunt down every Anomaly because they would want to be able to be special. 

The government didn’t listen. And after Harry Lemmon was situated into a normal life, they made an official report called **_The Evolved Human_** and released it to the public; it included a phone number that a person could call if they thought they had abilities or if they noticed something odd with another person. Some believed it was a hoax. It was just a way to create a sense of nationalism or uniqueness within the country. Others were scared. They refused to send their kid to school and said that they wouldn’t go to work if their boss wasn’t identified as one of those Evolved Humans. Others were jealous. They demanded that the government find a way to give the rest of the population special abilities or make it so that they would get better representation. Some children were bullied or beat up and there were many missing cases throughout the country.

It was everything that Harry had warned it would be. 

So, in 1986 the government retracted its statement. It made a public apology and said that it was an intern’s idea of a joke. They said that there were no people with superhuman strength or the ability to fly. However, they kept the Shadow Program open. Every once in a while, they would get a call from the number that had quickly circulated after the report’s release. A few times it was just a case of a mother panicking over a sickly child. Sometimes, though, it really was an Anomaly. 

For years, the Shadow Program talked to and researched several Anomalies. The older the person, the more control they had. They were tested then after about a year, they could go home. Children, however, would require more care. They had little control over their powers and would routinely have to practice with others. They would have so many children come in for help that they created boarding schools. The schools were secluded places where they could harness their power. 

It was interesting. The public accepted the government’s lie and moved on with their lives. They forgot all about Anomalies and the fear they produced. It turned into a conspiracy theory that made peoples’ eyes roll. The panicked whispers were getting softer.

While people forgot or ignored the fact, others ran from it. They saw the fear their existence created; the Anomalies that didn’t get involved with the program went underground. They hid their powers. Over time, fewer people came forward, fewer parents called about disturbed children. 

But the Shadow Program continued to stay up and running. As fewer participants showed up, the more desperate they were to understand. Eventually, the program’s time was up and they were told that the plug was being pulled. However, they were given a second chance. Someone decided that it was worth investing money and time in a futile attempt to see what Anomalies could really do.

And the whispers were lit again, however, now it was amongst the Anomalies. Friends would go missing. Family members would spend a lot of time looking up cures for special conditions. And they had a suspicion that the dusty phone had started ringing again. 

For, you see, the rumors never left. People would be willing to call a strange number if they were scared… If they thought that they were in danger. 

… How strange that Harry Lemmon predicted the hunt and imprisonment of people like him, but he didn’t suspect the right people who would actually do it….


	2. I Fear What I May Be, Even If I Am Nothing

**Damien (Many Years ago)**

The sun was high in the sky and the woods were alive with birdsong. The light filtered through the leaves and danced on the moss covered floor. There was a small breeze that ruffled his hair as he continued on the path. Despite the respite the shade offered from the harsh sun, the temperature was still enough to make him feel as though he was being baked in an oven. 

Damien walked down the path to the river like he did every Sunday. It had become a sort of ritual. Sunday was the only day of the week when his house was peaceful; there was no shouting or slamming doors. However, Damien felt wrong when the house was quiet, especially with the scent of beer still etched into the very paint on the walls. 

So, on every Sunday, to escape the eye of the storm, Damien walked through the woods behind his house. After two-hundred feet, he would deviate from the normal hiking trail and onto a smaller one. He first had the idea when he saw deer tracks heading the same way he was going now. And, as any curious ten year old would do, he followed them. He didn’t find any deer, but stumbled onto a shallow river. 

Today, the water was murky and only looked as if it could be home to very tiny fish. It was fairly quiet; only ripples betrayed the life beneath the gentle surface. When he watched the water move, he was able to forget everything. Damien didn’t think about his father coming home late or he and his mother eating dinner in silence. He didn’t have to worry about having no friends to play with or annoying homework. There were no teachers to tell him he had to pay attention or ask him if everything was okay. 

That was one of the more annoying things about school; the teachers. Either they threatened to call home and set up a meeting, or they smothered him in is-there-anything-you-needs and are-you-all-rights. Obviously, Damien was fine. There was nothing on his face that would prove him wrong. He turned in his homework and even helped out around the classroom. He never gave any indication that he was anything other than okay. Teachers were just concerned because Damien didn’t have any friends.

But Damien preferred it that way. It meant he could spend as much time at his river as he wanted. 

Damien sat down on the biggest stone near the opening of the path. He didn’t want to be too out in the open in case someone else found his sanctuary. He took a deep breath and just watched the river slowly drift by. 

  
  


Not only did Damien like this spot because it was secluded, but also because it was breathtakingly beautiful. Large, smooth stones sat up on the banks, making perfect seats for anyone who decided to stay and soak in the sights. Another forest made up the land on the other side. It painted Damien’s vision with different shades of green and brown that changed depending on the season. If the wind was strong enough, it would make the trees sway; this allowed the many flowers and other wildlife to demonstrate their beauty. The whole scene was something from a painting. Even on the dreerier days, the landscape was handsome. 

Movement caught Damien’s eye. A baby deer was walking along the opposite bank. It wobbled over rocks and maneuvered around fallen branches, looking for food. Its mama must have been nearby in the cover of the trees. Damien felt a smile worm its way onto his face. It was adorable. 

Something else filtered into his gaze. Something glistened in the sunlight. From where he sat, he could only tell that it was made of some kind of metal and no bigger than the animal that stood less than three feet away. Very slowly, Damien stood up and roamed a few feet down stream. The new position didn’t offer him any more information.

Curiosity burned in Damien’s mind. He had to know what it was. What if it was money? What if it was a toy? Someone could have lost something very important to them and Damien could try to give it back. But to get it, Damien would have to get in the river. That would be less than ideal, but the fawn was eating. He didn’t want to disturb the peaceful creature in its own home. For the first time ever, Damien wished that the Force existed. If the fawn wasn’t there, he would just walk over and get it. But Damien stood firm in his respect to the wildlife in his sanctuary. 

Damien felt an odd twinge in the back of his mind, tickling him. It’s not like he would be criticized for trying to see if the Force really existed… He was the only one who would ever know. But that was a stupid idea… Damien’s frustration got the better of him. He lifted his hand with a huff, palm open towards the other bank. He focused on what he wanted to do. He imagined the silver object lifting into the air and floating towards him. Of course, like he thought, nothing happened. After a minute, Damien’s hand dropped back to his side and he let out a miserable sigh. 

He huffed and turned to walk back to his mighty stone. He began to walk away, kicking a stick as he went. Suddenly, there was clanging and cracking behind him. Damien spun around and was able to see several rocks tumble into the river. There wasn’t much time to watch though because there was a flash of silver heading towards him; Damien ducked low with his hands over his head. 

There was a final splash as a giant rock fell into the water. All was quiet except for Damien’s harsh breathing.  _ What just happened? Am I under attack?  _ Many more thoughts flitted through his head as he stayed crouched. It soon became clear, though, that no one else was there. Cautiously, Damien removed his hands from his hair and stood up. His eyes went wide at the scene before him. 

The fawn was no longer there; it must have fled when the noise started. At least a dozen large stones had been torn away from their seats in the river bank. It now looked like a giant had created stepping stones that reached across the river to where Damien had been standing. The shiny thing that had been the source of Damien's frustration was embedded in a tree behind him. It was still as the wind danced through the woods. It seemed to be a platter of some sort; a very shiny, metallic plate.

Damien’s breath got caught in his throat as panic seized him.  _ What did he just do? Was it him? What was he? What should he do? _

Not looking at anything else, Damien shot through the forest. He ran all the way home and ended up locking himself in his room for the rest of the day.

⤔

**(A Few Years Later)**

Damien knew something was wrong when he stepped onto his driveway. The birds were no longer singing and all of the neighbor’s curtains were drawn. The entire street felt abandoned even though he saw people going for a run two blocks over. A general nervousness had taken over his body. Something in the back of his mind whispered at him to run… to leave and never look back. But he ignored it. 

Although he did listen to the warning bells and didn’t walk into his house. He glanced behind him, but no one was there. Strange… his buddy had said he would be right behind him…

“Mom!” 

There was no warning as a whistle sounded and several people were in front of him. They were all dressed in black and several carried odd looking weapons. They pointed the weapons at him and started shouting. 

“Hands up! Get down!”

“Do it!”

“On the ground!”

The orders hadn’t even processed in his brain before someone kicked the back of his knees. Damien fell to his knees roughly and there were hands on his shoulders, throwing him onto the ground. He inhaled dust as his arms were secured behind his back. Immediately, he felt the energy within him constrict. It was almost as if it was confined in his ribcage, pulsing in time with his erratically beating heart. Damien tried to tug his hands apart, but the only result was something being knocked into the back of his head.

The last thing Damien remembers from that day was the shouting of the soldiers and a siren piercing the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments, they really help me out! I hope everyone is staying safe with everything that's happening right now. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for another update soon!


	3. It's Not a Study

**Damien**

The room Damien sat in was reminiscent of an interrogation room. It was painted a slate blue color and white tiles covered the floor. The single fluorescent lamp hanging from the ceiling was surprisingly bright, but it left the corners of the room in shadow. There were two mirrors, both of which Damien was sure were two-way; one facing him and one in the wall to his right. 

Damien forced his eyes to land anywhere except the mirrors. He had been working in retail long enough to know that someone was always behind them. There was a faint humming coming from somewhere, but it was beyond the bolted door. He shifted in the uncomfortable metal chair and started tapping his wrist from under the table.

He still had the cuffs on him, and he had to say they were making him feel quite ill. The energy he felt in him — the energy he had come to recognize since he was ten — had always been moving freely within him. It held a calming presence and had come to think of it as his life force. But what was usually so strong and humming, it was now coiled into a ball behind his ribs. It had taken the role of a second heartbeat, but it was weaker than before. He felt drained.

Damien was pulled from his musings when the door in the corner opened. In stepped a wiry man with dark hair slicked back by some kind of gel. He held a clipboard and a glass of water. 

“Hello, Mr. Haas. I’m Dr. Andrew Brevil,” he greeted. “I’m a researcher here.”

Damien kept his eyes on the man as he sat down. He placed the glass of water in front of Damien.

“I thought you might be thirsty.”

Damien didn’t move a muscle. It was clear that the researcher was trying to seem calm and cordial, but his eyes said something different. There was something cold in Brevil’s stormy eyes. Brevil smiled suddenly and plucked a pen from his pocket.

“I have some questions for you, Mr. Haas,” the man’s eyes flashed and met Damien’s. “If you don’t mind.” Again, Damien didn’t move. “First, how are you?”

Damien took a moment to answer, his gaze locked with the doctor’s. 

“I’ve been better.” This only made Brevil smile wider. He began to write a few words on a piece of paper, humming thoughtfully. Damien placed his bound hands on the table and leaned forward. “Why am I here?”

Brevil paused, staring at the cuffs. 

“You are here because someone was concerned about you. They noticed an… abnormality in your behavior and called us. We’re going to help you.” Another pause. “How long have you had those on?”

Brevil went to touch the cuffs, but Damien pulled away.

“Since I was assaulted in my driveway,” Damien spit through his teeth.

Brevil made a face as if to scold a child. 

“Our recruits can be a little excitable, Mr. Haas. I’m sure they didn’t mean to be so rough,” Brevil said, making a note on the paper. “But you have been wearing those for about five hours… How do you feel?”

“Sick,” Damien frowned. 

“Interesting,” Brevil muttered. “More about that later. But now, what is it that you can do, Mr. Haas?”

Damien’s frown deepened. “What?”

Brevil sat up straighter, twirling the pen between his fingers. 

“Well, some people like you can read minds; others can teleport or fly. I’m asking you what you can do.”

⤔

Damien had been taken to another room. They had passed several people dressed in military uniforms and Damien felt slightly appalled. Surely, he wasn’t interesting enough for the government to train him in his abilities. If Brevil was even telling the truth. 

His handcuffs were slipped off and Damien felt a rush of power surge through his entire body. He let out a sigh of relief. 

“You are going to stand here,” Brevil said, motioning for Damien to stand in front of a mirror. “Now, Mr. Haas, when something comes at you, I want you to stop it. Don’t let it hit the mirror. Simple, no?”

Dr. Brevil left without another word. Damien was then left alone in the silent room waiting for something to happen. He had almost convinced himself this was a trick when there was a thunk.

Damien held his hand out as something akin to a bowling ball was hurled in his direction. He focused and could almost feel it in his hand. He focused on that feeling and the object slowed to a stop in front of him. Then another thunk and another bowling ball was flung at him. Once again, he stopped it about two feet before the mirror. 

Without even breaking a sweat, Damien was able to pause over a dozen more in their path. Some of them were smaller than his head, but others were as large as a microwave. Eventually, the firing periods overlapped each other, and Damien had to fling both of his arms in front of him to track multiple objects at once. 

He was doing this for what seemed like an hour, but must have been only about ten minutes. At some point the firing stopped and what looked like a hundred, metal spheres hovered in the air. The door opened once more and Brevil, along with a few other men, stepped inside. 

Damien was panting harshly and sweat had formed on his brow. His hands shook slightly as he kept most of his focus on keeping the spheres in the air.

Brevil had a broad grin stretched across his thin face, his eyes gleaming. 

“How old did you say you are, Mr. Haas?”

“Fifteen,” Damien responded tiredly.

“You can let them go,” Brevil said. Damien let the objects fall to the floor with a crash. “I think you’re going to fit in just fine here.”

Despite the giddiness in Brevil’s voice, Damien didn’t share the same optimism. He didn’t like the tone or the whispers shared by the others behind them. All he knew, though, was that he was going to be here for a while.

⤔

The lights in the training room were dim as the storm raged outside. The dark green shadows of the forest had turned a murky grey as the rain fell down in sheets. It made the training room look more like his room: dark, dreary, with an undertone of despair. While Damien wanted to watch the pouring rain through the window, he couldn’t take his eyes off of the people weaving around each other. 

There were three people in the arena (well less of an arena and more of a taped square on the concrete floor). One was a kid that must have only been a few years older than him, the other two were about eight years older. The kid had super strength, but that didn’t seem to matter since he couldn’t touch Thing 1; Thing 1 and 2 were their nicknames. They wore matching grins on their faces as they watched the kid dab at a gash on his forehead. Damien felt slightly sick at the thought of a person enjoying the violent fight. 

“Do they actually like fighting this way?” Damien asked, turning to his roommate, Jeremy. 

Jeremy grimaced and jerked his head in a nod.

“They’re sick,” he said in a gruff voice. “They never lose. That’s why they’re a test.”

“What do you mean?” Damien whispered. 

Jeremy glanced at the guards in the corner of the room, but they were watching the challenge. He looked at Damien, barely moving his lips when he spoke.

“Half of the people disappear after fighting with them.”

Damien felt a chill run down his spine and glanced at the two. They were circling around the other boy, who was now wobbling on his feet.

“Why?”

Jeremy scoffed, but there was a glint of fear in his eyes. 

“I don’t know, now do I? I’m still here.”

Damien didn’t reply. He watched as the kid finally fell onto the ground, his head clutched in his hands.

⤔

He watched the foot pull back menacingly. Damien brought his arms down protectively over his stomach just before the kick landed. Pain radiated through his arm and a whine worked in the back of his throat. He didn’t even know what he did this time to anger the soldiers. Although, in all honesty, it could have been absolutely nothing. 

He held in a cry as he felt a blow to his back. He curled in on himself, his face scraping against the concrete floor. There were a few more kicks to his back, arms, and legs, but Damien didn’t make another sound. It was quiet for a second, but then the guard behind his back stepped over him. Damien didn’t look up as they filtered out of the room. 

“Don’t expect breakfast in the morning,” one of them spat before he left.

The door closed with a loud thunk, the lock sliding into place. He released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He slowly uncurled himself, but remained on the ground. Damien’s thoughts swirled around in his head and it took awhile for him to catch a clear sentence. 

_ What did he even do? _ He doesn’t remember doing anything wrong. He didn’t speak when they took him to Dr. Forrestor; he didn’t make eye contact or abnormal facial expressions. Maybe another inmate had pissed them off. 

Carefully, Damien pushed himself into a sitting position. His head spun and he placed a hand over his eyes with a groan. He tried to feel the energy of the room, but he only had a hazy idea of where his bed may be. He shuffled to the wall, bumping into the bed once, and leaned against the cool surface. 

He wiped his face with the hand that covered his eyes. His arm dropped onto his knees and he listened to the silence. He thought back to what the soldier had said before locking his cell door. Damien chuckled to himself.

“As if I ever  _ expect _ breakfast.”

⤔

Damien was on his back, laying on the cement floor of the training room. Not by choice of course. His head was pounding after the crash it had with the floor. His heart was hammering in his chest and he couldn’t breathe. More from the ball of water that had engulfed his head than from the panic he felt. 

He had thought that grabbing his opponents hand’s was a smart idea. The young woman had been circling him at a great distance and he thought that her ability required space, so Damien kept her close and held onto her. However, she was excellent at hand to hand combat and had him on the floor quickly. 

Damien had been content to stop the challenge there. Let her hit him a few times and walk away. But Brevil had mentioned that the fight would not end until they both demonstrated their powers. Immediately, Damien was forced across the floor by a jet of freezing water. It stopped, but the woman jumped on top of him and continued to fight.

That’s how he’s in his current predicament. Fighting for life, desperately hoping he doesn’t drown on the dirty cement floor. However, he still refused to use his power. The woman on top of him should have won by now; he was no longer really fighting her. Damien should’ve heard the piercing ring that announces the end of a challenge. Instead, he heard the muffled voice of Dr. Brevil.

“You know what to do, Sixteen,” he was saying. 

Damien didn’t do anything as he felt his lungs start to burn. 

“Are you willing to die like this, Sixteen?” Brevil said. The edge of Damien’s vision started to go fuzzy. “I’m not stopping this challenge.”

“You will die if you do nothing!” Damien heard.

Panic crept into his throat as his chest tightened painfully. Was he really going to die like this? After years of suffering through the pain and torment this place provided, he was going to just refuse to fight back? 

Damien pondered the questions, but his time ran and he was forced to try and take a breath. Instinct kicked in and Damien felt a wave of energy explode from his hands as he inhaled water. The woman was shoved off of him and he felt air lick his face. Suddenly, Damien wasn’t under water, but he was still coughing the liquid from his lungs. He rolled onto his side and gulped down as much air as he could. 

⤔

The room he was in was a large size and the walls were a dreary grey. He was sitting on the floor with his head against the wall. Across from him, on the opposite wall, there was a two-way mirror that the scientists were hiding behind to observe him. They seemed to love observing Damien given the fact that this was his fifth observation (also known as experiment) in two days. He had never been in this room before though, so they must have leveled him up. 

Damien was worried that he would have to sit there for over three hours before he learned what he had to go through. Although it only took two thousand and seven hundred seconds to find out what his objective was. Typically, Dr. Forrestor would make a small speech over the loudspeaker about his goal and the information that he will gather from the test. 

This time, Damien didn’t need an explanation because the walls suddenly started to move. It took a moment for him to register the movement, but he did know that the room was getting smaller at an alarmingly fast rate. 

Not knowing what else to do, he closed his eyes and cast his awareness out. He could feel the energy flow around him, pulsing with its own life within him. Then, Damien searched the energy of the room around him. He could feel the air and where it hit the walls and the floor. He could feel it around him; he could feel it in him as he breathed. 

But the energy wasn’t confined in the one room. He could feel a slit above and beneath the enclosing walls. He didn’t bother to find out what was beyond the miniscule passages and concentrated. The energy that was once free and roaming across every surface suddenly seized. Damien focused on the wall to his right first; it was easier to hold one wall still and move on instead of tackling both problems at the same time. 

Damien shifted so that he was sitting up straighter than before. He molded the energy as if it was an extension of his fingers. His hand twitched as he imagined pulling the wall away from himself. There was a tug on his heart as the wall continued to scrape along the ground. Without losing his focus, he continued to pull at the wall, although now he pushed against it as well. 

A bead of sweat rolled down the back of his neck as the first wall finally came to a stop six feet from him. However, most of Damien’s focus was drawn to the still moving wall on his left. It was relatively fast compared to the other one. Once again, the energy shifted before curling around the edges of the wall. It didn’t slow down at all. 

Briefly, Damien opened his eyes to look at the surface to his right. It had remained still, so he closed his eyes and tried pushing on the wall. The task proved to be harder than he thought. Damien grit his teeth as he felt the floor and other edges scrape together in his mind. 

A growl tore at his throat when he realized that the wall had gotten closer than he wished. About five feet left and Damien didn’t have anywhere to go if he couldn’t stop it. The growl formed into a lump of fear when he felt the other wall slip a little. Damien was straight, not even leaning against the wall anymore, and had a hand raised towards the wall that he had already stilled. 

He split his focus between both surfaces, pushing and pulling, but he delved into the narrow passage. Behind the wall was a pulley system of cables and chains. 

Four feet left. 

Damien looked for anything, but the image in his head was getting a little fuzzy. He was overexerting himself. He ignored it as he tugged on the cables that connected the wall and a weight. 

Three feet. 

Sweat rolled down his forehead and his breathing was labored. Damien didn’t break his concentration as he attempted to shuffle away from the still moving wall. He felt along the cable, knowing it was his best bet. He had almost searched the entire line when he found what he was looking for. 

Damien put up his other hand so that he had one facing each wall. Then, he used the little bit of focus he could spare and worked on the cable. He curled his extended fingers in the tiny slice in the line and pulled. It gave way easily. 

Suddenly, the surface to the left of him stopped. Damien immediately pushed against the other surface. It wasn’t moving, but Damien didn’t have the strength to keep it that way. He pushed his awareness into the back and felt around for the weight. 

There wasn’t a nick in the cable, but there was a door. Sighing, Damien pushed through the space underneath the door. He was in another room. It was long and thin, and there was a window. He assumed it was the observation room. 

There was a small panel with switches, but Damien didn’t know if that had the one to shut off the contraption. However, he had to take the chance. Damien’s own energy was waning and he wasn’t going to last much longer. So, with a bit of effort, Damien tugged on every switch. There was a click and a mechanical whirring that Damien hadn’t noticed shut off.

Damien immediately released his hold on everything. His mind went dark and he leaned against the wall again. He peeled one eye open and saw that the neither wall moved. 

A door opened and several scientists walked in, including Brevil and Forrestor. That was odd. Brevil never came to his observations. He preferred to analyze the videos so that he could catch something that might give him away. What he would be giving away, Damien wasn’t sure. 

“Impressive, Sixteen,” Forrestor said. “What did you do?”

“You may need a new cable for that wall,” Damien pointed to his right.

“And you turned off the machine,” Brevil added.

“If you say so, sir.”

Brevil stood up straighter as he leered down at him.

“Just another example of your brilliance,” Brevil praised, but Damien knew there was something malicious behind the phrase. “Take Sixteen to his room.”

Two guards heaved him off of the floor and led him out. As he passed the others, he caught a few whispered words.

“We’ve been studying him for nine years. Only twenty-four and he can do that!”

He had to hold in a laugh as he was dragged out of the room. They weren’t studying him. He wasn’t a research participant —  Sixteen Damien was a prisoner.


	4. A Mission For the Reckless

**Mari**

It was sharp three knocks that woke her up. She groaned and rolled over, glancing out of her window. The sun was just starting to poke through the trees. It wasn’t anywhere near the time she normally woke up, why was someone knocking on her door? 

Mari almost ignored whoever was outside her door, but there were three more sharp knocks. She groaned in frustration again and threw the covers off of her. She stomped across the smallish room and opened the door. 

Joshua Ovenshire — more commonly known as Joven — was standing beyond it. He had a small, apologetic smile on his face and a cup of coffee. Mari leaned against the doorframe, holding the door open.

“What do you want at,” Mari glanced at the clock on her table, “six in the morning.  _ On a Saturday _ ,” she emphasized.

Joven sighed, handing her the cup of coffee.

“Not my choice,” he muttered. “Believe me. Ian wants everyone downstairs.”

“Meeting? Now?” Joven nodded, hiding his hands in his pockets. “Why?”

“He didn’t brief me,” Joven shrugged. “He didn’t say anything to you?”

Mari shook her head. “Nothing.”

Joven whistled and rubbed the back of his head before hiding his hand again.

“Ian’s keeping secrets…. That’s not good.”

“No,” Mari agreed with a chuckle. She took a sip of her new beverage. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Okay,” Joven said, walking to Wes’s door. 

Mari sighed and closed her door. She set the mug down on her table and opened her closet. She threw on the first outfit she saw and put her hair in a messy bun. She glanced in the mirror, not really caring what she looked like before picking up her coffee. She took a drink and opened the door. She stepped into the hall and was met with a frowning Lasercorn. 

He glared at her accusingly and she held up her free hand.

“I know,” she grumbled. “I’m not happy about it either.”

Lasercorn muttered something under his breath, but he did stop looking like he was thinking of throwing a fireball at her. 

They walked down the stairs together silently and turned into the hallway on their right. They didn’t see anyone in the kitchen as they made their way to the narrow passageway into the meeting room. It seemed like they were the last ones to arrive and everyone was mumbling tiredly. Well, except for Ian, Joe, and Shayne - they were all silent. 

Mari sat down in her usual spot next to Ian. No sooner had she settled down when Ian started talking.

“I know you are all tired and I woke you up early,” Ian started, “but I have a good reason.” He waited for everyone to stop talking and pay attention. “I have a mission.”

At those words, everyone perked up. The last mission they had was when they were looking for a new base two years ago. Ian looked around at his friends. 

“It’s a dangerous one, but everything should go smoothly,” Ian said. “I was hoping Mari, Keith, and Courtney could go.” He looked at the three of them. “It’s a stealth mission. You wouldn’t interact with anybody and would just watch the site.”

Mari leaned forward, resting on her elbows. 

“Where is it?” Keith asked. At this, Ian looked down at his hands guiltily.

Mari saw Joe’s mouth twitch. Her gaze went back to the other man and she leaned forward a little to peer into his eyes. Ian took a deep breath, as if steeling himself. 

“I want you to go and observe one of the Shadow Facilities.”

There were several gasps, but many of them remained silent. Mari sipped on her coffee as she watched her friends’ reactions. 

“You want us to take that risk?” Shayne said, eyes wide. “After what happened last time they got that close?” 

“They’ll get caught!” Lasercorn said. “There’s no question!”

“There’s no way,” Noah murmured in disbelief.

“Why?” Joven asked.

Mari and Courtney locked eyes from across the table. The same unease that Mari felt was reflected in the girl’s green eyes.

They all looked at the head of the table where Ian sat. His elbows were set on the wooden surface and his hands were clasped together. His eyebrows pinched together in thought. Ian waited until they were all silent again to speak.

“Because,” he said finally. “We need to know what goes on in there.”

But Mari could see there was more to it. Her friend seemed deeply troubled by something and he wasn’t going to tell them. Mari frowned, but didn’t comment on the white lie.

“We have to know what their next plan is. They’re getting too close for comfort. We’re on their radar and I want to get out of it.”

It was true. Their little group was attracting quite a bit of attention; it comes with the territory of saving Anomalies that were on the run. The Shadow Agency was snooping around the area even if they didn’t really know the group was there. 

“If I may,” Joven said, a finger in the air, “I’m gonna go on record and say that this is a stupid idea.  _ But _ ,” Joven raised his voice when Olivia, Noah, and Courtney started giggling. “If you can promise that it’s safe —  _ if _ you can promise that there is a good reason to do this, then I’m in. Because I know I have to help get them there.”

Everyone looked at Mari. As two of the oldest members, the rest of them looked up to Joven and Mari as role models; whatever she said next would sway their decision. She inhaled deeply and set her mug down. She glanced at Courtney and Keith as she spoke.

“I think,” she began slowly, “that this could go wrong. And I mean seriously wrong,” she emphasized, glancing at Ian. “But if this could help us somehow then I think we should do it. We know that it’s going to take a lot for the Agency to back off, and if we have to go and watch one of their facilities for a day, then fine.”

Ian nodded, but he did nothing else. However, Noah scoffed.

“This is suicide.”

It was Courtney who answered.

“Maybe, but we have to try. Right?” she wondered aloud, looking at the rest of them. 

Everyone agreed, but there was tension in the air. Joe, Shayne, and Noah had ugly looks of disbelief on their faces. 

“Go get ready,” Ian said. “We’re leaving in ten.”

Mari tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in her gut as she stood up. People slowly trickled out of the room, and Mari waited until it was just Ian and Joe left. Joe looked angry enough to kill his friend; his shoulders were pinned to his ears and his eyes were ablaze. The look disappeared when he noticed Mari standing there. He sighed, nodded to her, and left.

Ian turned around, a hand ruffling his hair. 

“What is it?” He asked hesitantly.

“Which facility are we going to?” she said without missing a beat.

Ian sighed and his mouth worked into a frown. “Orion.”

Shock punched Mari in the chest. Orion was the highest secured facility controlled by the agency. 

“Why the hell are we going there?”

“You just have to trust me,” Ian replied heavily. 

Mari huffed and crossed her arms.

“I do, Ian,” she said. “But I want to know why.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ian huffed, leaving the room.

“Since when do you keep secrets from me?” Mari called after him.

“Since when have you been so nosy?”

Mari stood there stunned for a second. Ian had never been so short with her. She and Joven were always told when he had a plan. With a final sigh, Mari left without picking up her mug.

⤔

It wasn’t hard to get in. Joven took them to the edge of a dense forest. A large building with only one window towered over the trees. Mari suddenly wished she didn’t agree to go. 

Scouting a federal facility without getting caught is near impossible. Watching a federal facility that had drones, motion sensors, trip wires, and soldiers trained to combat Anomalies…. That was asking for a funeral.

“I’ll be back at three,” Joven explained. “I’ll be on the comms all day…”

“We’ll tell you if there’s trouble,” Mari said, patting Joven’s shoulder comfortingly. “See you soon.”

Joven nodded at her once, offered them an encouraging smile, and disappeared. Sighing, Mari looked at Courtney and Keith with a brave face. 

“If we don’t act like it will go wrong, then nothing will. Okay, go hide.”

Courtney and Keith nodded silently. Then Keith’s body disappeared as he camouflaged himself to the forest. Courtney bounded away; she jumped over a little log and into a small dip in the forest floor. When she returned Mari saw a fox running a few meters ahead. 

Mari took off behind them, her steps quick and quiet. The forest pressed in on her to an alarming degree. Mari felt her senses dull and she didn’t like it. Her survival depends on her ability to react quickly and it was hindered. A thin layer of fog rolled across the ground and it covered her feet. The air smelled like fresh rain, but there was an undertone of something bitter.

A glint caught her eye and she saw little boxes sitting in several of the lower branches. Motion sensors and cameras.

“Great,” Mari muttered to herself.

“Can you do something about them?” came Keith’s voice from next to her. There was no echo to his voice and it was an unsettling sound.

Mari shook her head. “I could crush it or try to disable it, but I don’t know if that would set it off. Half of it is plastic anyway.”

“So we’ll have to army crawl in the dirt?”

“‘Fraid so, dude.”

Mari got on her hands and knees and lowered herself to the ground. The dirt beneath her was cool as she crawled forward. The sensors were low enough to be hidden from view, but high enough so that animals wouldn’t trip them off. 

The two of them crawled in silence for about ten minutes. There was a dip in the ground and Mari rolled into it. She heard Keith follow her shortly after. Mari stayed under the cover of the trees. There were trails, but there was obviously a path for the guards to do their rounds. Since she didn’t know the guard rotation, he would have to hold back until she was sure she was clear. She hid in some brush by the trail and waited.

Luckily, Mari didn’t have to wait long. About twenty minutes later, she heard two pairs of footsteps make their way towards her.

“Did you see it?”

“Yeah, it was a fox. So what?”

Mari ducked lower under the cover, holding her breath as the footsteps got closer.

“It’s not like we see ‘em every day!”

“It’s not like we never see them either.”

It was another moment before Mari could see the guards clearly. They had on green jumpsuit-like uniforms. They had giant black vests that Mari assumed were bullet proof. In their hands were massive weapons, but they had glowing lights on their side. Those weren’t normal weapons carried by the LAPD or anything. The officers mosied their way down the path squabbling about the animals they see in the forest. 

When Mari couldn’t hear their voices, she stood up a little and took a few hesitant steps forward. There was a snap of a branch breaking and Mari ducked down again. However, it was just a fox that stepped onto the trail. It looked right at where Mari was hiding with bright green eyes. It was Courtney giving them the all clear.

Mari nodded to her and followed the trail. The sun was high in the sky and the warm light danced across the fog. It would have been a wonderful scene if it weren’t next to a giant prison. They walked for another ten minutes in silence. Mari focused on all of the sounds of the forest. If something was wrong, they would hear it first.

The watch on her wrist dinged and she lifted it to her mouth.

“Where are you? Is everything okay?” came Joven’s worried voice.

A smile tugged on Mari’s lips.

“We’re fine Joven,” Mari murmured. “We’re on a security trail. We can see the front door from here.”

“Stay there,” Ian’s voice sounded through the speaker. “We don’t want to get too close.”

“Okay,” Mari answered. “We’ll be here.”

Mari glanced around to make sure the other two had heard their orders. Mari saw Courtney bound to the other side of the path. The fox settled under a bush and was hidden from view. Some branches rustled as if something was pushing through them; Keith was still invisible. Mari made her way to a tree that was some distance from the trail and sat down against its trunk. She glanced down at the comm on her wrist; 10:37 a.m.

It was two hours before everything went to hell.

The three of them had been lulled in a sense of security. It was going to be twenty minutes before any guards were supposed to come their way. Nothing had happened at all. One man dressed in a long, white coat had entered the building, but other than that, it was quiet. 

Keith had started to pace somewhere to the left of Mari and Courtney had wandered over next to Mari. Everything was fine until Keith tripped over something. He fell with a shout and a grunt. Mari leapt up and checked him over.

“I’m fine,” Keith mumbled. “Damn sticks.”

Mari looked at what had tripped him and her breath caught in her throat. 

“That’s not a stick,” she said. “That’s a trip wire.”

Keith looked at her in fright and pulled himself away from the contraption. Mari held up a finger to her lips and listened hard. For a moment there was nothing. 

Then a dull whirring noise rang through the air. The sound got louder and louder until it was like a wasp in Mari’s ear. Looking up, Mari saw a drone stationed in the air. On the bottom of it was a camera and it was right above them. As Mari listened, she could hear dozens of footsteps running in their direction.

“Run!” Mari ordered. “They know we’re here!”

Mari held a hand out to the drone and curled it into a fist. The drone and the camera was crushed and fell to the ground. Then, she took off through the trees. Courtney, still in fox form, was running, but she ran in the style of a panicked animal. It was a smart move —to pretend that she was a wild creature. Keith was still invisible, but she saw the path he was leaving in front of her. Glancing back, she saw about two dozen soldiers running after them.

Branches whipped her face as Mari bound over fallen trees and dirt. They reached the dip in the ground and Mari almost fell. Picking herself up, she ran through the motion sensors without a second thought. Her lungs burned and her legs ached as she pushed herself through the forest. She lifted up her hand and tapped the watch. It dinged and she didn’t wait for an answer as she began screaming into the device.

“We’re caught! We’re running back to the drop off point! Be ready in two!”

There was a millisecond before Joven’s panicked voice filled the air.

“How many are there?”

“A lot!”

Mari pushed herself faster while still glancing back. A few soldiers were taking aim with their glowing weapons.

“GO! GO! GO!” 

Mari urged her friends as she slowed down slightly. She heard her friends protest, but they all continued at top speed. Mari, without stopping, lifted her hands and pulled. Most of the weapons flew out of their hands, but a few of them had already fired. Bright blue darts missed and embedded themselves to the trees around her. Mari faced forward again and went as fast as her legs could carry her.

They burst out of the trees and into the open air. There, in the field next to the fence was Joven. Mari almost scowled. Why was he so far away?

Mari was half-way to oven when she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She reached behind her and pulled grasped at the thing embedded there. It was one of the blue darts. For a moment, nothing happened. She continued to run, but then she felt a drowsiness start to envelope her. It fogged up her mind and she couldn’t keep her legs under her. But she had to reach Joven, she had to get out of here. She kept running.

But then she stumbled. She fell to the ground and she found that she was too tired to pick herself up. There were footsteps and she felt someone beside her, shaking her. Mari didn’t even know her eyes were closed until she peeled them open. Courtney was in front of her with a frown.

“Come on, Mari!” Courtney shouted. “Get up!”

Mari tried to mumble something, but her teeth were sticky.

“Mari! Get up!”

A dart flew and landed in the ground next to them and another one whistled over Courtney as she ducked.

Mari pushed back lightly. “Go. Get out. Tell… Tell Ian.”

“I’m not leaving you!” Courtney cried.

Mari shook her head and pushed the other woman.

“No, go! They’ll get you too.”

Courtney didn’t say anything for a moment, but the soldiers were getting close.

“I’ll be back for you. We’ll get you out,” Courtney was crying. “Look for me. We’ll get you, I promise!”

And with that, Courtney ran away. Mari watched her reach the others and they teleported away. Then, Mari only knew darkness.


	5. We Thought It Might Get Worse

**Courtney**

Courtney and Keith sat in Ian’s office with Joe, Joven, and Ian. They had just finished their report on what happened and Courtney could feel the despair and anger that rolled off the other men. Courtney herself was so upset that she almost couldn’t finish her report. She knew that her eyes were bloodshot and her heart pounded in her chest. 

She knew what the other three were thinking. Mari was one of the older members of this group, and one of the best fighters. If she wasn’t able to make it out, then it was unlikely that they would get her back. 

Courtney refused to believe that. They would get Mari back — they had to. She was family and Courtney didn’t leave family behind. Either they would break her out, or Mari would be in the hands of the government. 

Her leg bounced as she waited for Ian to give a verdict. Keith, Joe, and Joven stared at Ian as he processed the report. Ian’s face was pinched and serious. He was frantic when Joven teleported them back, barking orders and hovering on the edge of the scene. Joven said he was barely breathing before they got there. 

Ian sat up a little taller and Courtney held her breath. He cast a sorrowful look and shook his head.

“We can’t go after her,” he said solemnly. 

“We have to!” Keith shouted, leaning forward in his seat.

Courtney felt the blood rush out of her face and fresh tears pricked her eyes. Sorrow swept over her and she started to shake.

“She’s our family,” Keith argued. “They’ll kill her!”

“No they won’t,” Ian growled. There was something dark in his gaze. “I’m sor—”

“Are we really not going to help her? After all we’ve been through?” Courtney questioned. Her voice was a mix of anger and hope. “After all she’s done for us?”

Ian sighed and shook his head. “We can’t risk it.”

“Why?” Keith said, his voice raised. “It might be easier than what we were doing today.”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t,” Ian said, glancing at the other two who have remained silent. “It’s just not safe.”

“There has to be a fucking way!” Keith shouted. “She wouldn’t forget us — we — we can’t forget about her. We have — We can’t — There has to —”

“I know,” Ian began. “It’s not an easy decision. I’m sorry.”

Courtney stood up so fast that her chair almost toppled over. Anger bubbled up in her and she pound her fist onto the desk.

“Don’t say you’re sorry — Go get her! We can’t abandon her. She’s one of us!”

“Yeah,” Keith stood up too. “We have to get her back!”

Joe and Joven still didn’t say anything, and Courtney was even angrier. Didn’t they want Mari back too?

“It’s too dangerous!” Ian answered, his voice rising. He glanced around at all four of them as he continued earnestly. “Look, if I thought it was safer or if there was a way in, I would do it. But there isn’t! Mari’s a big girl, she can handle —” Ian paused and took a breath. “She can handle whatever they throw at her.”

Courtney didn’t give up.

“We can’t lose her to those beasts, ” Courtney spat. She motioned to everyone in anger. “They’ll do God-knows-what to her. I say we go after her. We’ll storm the place… There was a window—”

“We won’t be doing that, Miller,” Ian said in his commander voice. There was a finality in his tone that left Courtney gutted.

“But we can’t leave her there!” Courtney stated. “I promised her that we would go back for her!”

Ian glared at her. 

“I guess you shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”

The sentence was quiet, but it stung Courtney’s heart. Her legs grew weak and she slumped down into her seat. Her anger cooled into an icy numbness that settled in her core. 

“But we —” Keith tried.

“This is my final decision,” Ian interrupted. There was an impatience that was rarely seen in the man. “Do you think this is easy for me? Do you think I want her to rot in a cell for the rest of her life? I would do almost anything to get her back!”

Keith tried to speak, but Ian sent him a nasty glare.

“Anything except risk your lives. It’s already my fault that Mari’s gone, I’m not making the same mistake again. I know that she would rather be in that facility alone instead of seeing one of you go through it with her. So, we’re gonna lay low for a while. We’re going to see what happens before we do anything else.”

They were all quiet for a minute. Courtney felt like she had been stabbed in the back. Mari would go back for them if she saw a chance. She wouldn’t let Ian make this decision without a fight. But Courtney wasn’t like Mari. She couldn’t sway Ian’s resolve the way the other woman could.

Joven looked around at them with a frown. Then, his voice quiet, he spoke for the first time during the whole ordeal.

“I think it would be best if you go rest. I’ll tell everyone the news.”

Keith jumped out of his seat and left the room without another word. He had yanked the door so hard that it bounced off of the wall.

“Courtney?” Joven questioned when she didn’t move. “Do you have something to say?”

Courtney glared at both of them and got up.

“Nothing nice,” she spat and walked away.

⤔

It was a few hours later and the stars were twinkling high in the sky. The cool breeze brushed her skin as it weaved through the night. Courtney was leaning on the railing in front of her window. Some of the rooms had a balcony, but most of them at least had railings that guarded the big windows that were in every room. 

Courtney’s mind still swirled. Ian, the older brother that took them all in, was leaving one of their own in a cell. Maybe it’s a conspiracy. Maybe Mari let herself get caught so that she could find out information from the Agency. Otherwise, Courtney couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t try and rescue Mari. However, Mari had seemed like she was running for her life when she was caught. 

Guilt rose in her throat like bile. If she had been less panicked, she could have carried her. Or, she could have shifted into something that could’ve carried her to Joven. Courtney could have fought back. She could have tried at least. But, instead, she left Mari because she was scared. 

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on her door. It was so soft that she almost missed it. She almost ignored it; she didn’t want to talk to any of them. Sighing, she pushed herself off of the railing and trudged to the door. Courtney pulled it open to see Olivia standing in the corridor. 

The other girl looked just as sad as Courtney felt. Her eyes were red and her lip trembled. Olivia took a deep breath before speaking.

“Wanna go to the roof?” Olivia said, her eyes pleading.

Courtney looked at her for a second and then stepped back to let the other woman in. Olivia walked into the room and immediately went to the window. Courtney closed her bedroom door with a sigh and followed her best friend. There was a gust of wind and suddenly, Olivia was flying through the air. 

Courtney hopped onto the railing without a thought. Below her were pushes, petunias, and daffodils that they had put into the garden a few months ago. Courtney was quite a ways from the ground, but she didn’t mind. The image of a robin popped into her head and she pushed herself away from the window. She fell for a second, her hair whipping around her face, but then she shifted. Suddenly, everything was bigger as her body became smaller. She had wings and was swooping towards the ground. 

She had always loved feeling the air ruffle her feathers as she flew. Birds had always been a favorite of hers; being a hawk or an owl had always let her feel like the big things in life weren’t as important as everyone made them out to be. She didn’t have to worry about Shadow Agents coming after her or that they would find their hideout. Freedom was something that Courtney could have in this form. 

The flight didn’t last long and, soon, she was on the roof. Olivia had spread out the blanket already and was taking her shoes off. The roof had become a place that only the two of them used. They have had sleepovers, brunches, rants, and crying sessions here. Since they couldn’t go into town too often, they were kind of forced to try and have fun at home. 

Sure, there was a pool, an orchard, and a forest, but that had all become boring after two years. Courtney wasn’t that fond of the woods because of the bugs and Olivia couldn’t swim very well, so their options were limited sometimes. But the roof became a place where they didn’t have to worry about anything; no one could listen in on them or barge in. That was something Courtney needed right now. 

Courtney sat down on the blanket next to Olivia and huffed. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Olivia asked hesitantly.

Courtney flopped back and stared at the stars. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

“It’s not fair,” she complained. “We should go after her.”

“I know,” Olivia said. “But Ian was right.” Courtney looked up at her coldly, but Olivia didn’t notice as she laid back as well. “It would be dangerous.”

“But she would go back for all of us!” Courtney scowled. 

“And I want to,” Olivia rushed. “But what can we do?”

Courtney didn’t know. They couldn’t do it alone. The most she could do is scout the facility. She guessed that Mari would have to help somehow, but there would be no way of knowing how to reach her. Courtney sighed and closed her eyes. 

If only she had stayed. It would be so much easier to help Mari if she could see what was happening to her. What if they went to get her and they find out that she had a broken leg. Joven wouldn’t be able to get too close because then they would see his face. He was one of the few people who could go into tow without being caught; they shouldn’t risk changing that. The Shadow Agency probably knew that this had something to do with SMOSH and they had to stay under the radar.

Guilt turned inside of her. They couldn’t help Mari without risking their own freedom, but Courtney didn’t want to lose the little freedom she had. However, she desperately wanted to get Mari back. She was like her big sister. Courtney couldn’t live her life knowing that her sister was being tortured behind bars. 

“I was so scared,” she whispered. Courtney didn’t know if she was saying it to herself or to her friend. 

She felt Olivia take her hand in her own and brushed her thumb across the back of her hand.

“I know. It must have been scary.” 

“No,” Courtney said. “I mean yes, I was terrified. But I was so scared when Mari went down. I couldn’t just help her. There were darts or whatever they were flying over my head and I could only run away.”

Olivia squeezed her hand. 

“It’s okay,” she tried. “You did what you could.”

“No, it’s not okay!” Courtney cried, pounding her fist into the blanket. Why didn’t anyone get it? “I just left her there! I could have done more! I  _ should _ have done more!”

“But —”

Courtney took her hand out of Olivia’s and sat up. She rubbed her eyes in irritation.

“I didn’t try to pick her up. I didn’t try to tell Joven to get closer. I didn’t try to get Keith to help me. I didn’t —”

Courtney was interrupted by a new voice. 

“‘Scuse me, ladies,” Joven said. 

Courtney and Olivia turned to look over their shoulders. Joven was leaning against one of the walls that protected the attic entrance. His arms were crossed over his chest and he had one foot placed against the wall. He looked like — and failed to do successfully — like a dad that had tried to act cool in front of his son’s friends. 

“What do you want, Joven?” Olivia said coolly. 

Joven shrugged and a devilish smirk appeared on his face. 

“Nothing,” he said casually. “I just wanted to know if you wanted to get Mari back.”

⤔

“The only way to see in,” Courtney said, pointing to a crude drawing of the facility, “is this window.”

Courtney, Olivia, Joven, Keith and Wes were sitting in the meeting room at two in the morning. They were thinking up a plan on how they were going to rescue Mari. Joven didn’t want too many people to know because they would want to come along. They had to do this mission as quietly as possible and without Ian’s knowledge.

Courtney was kind of surprised that Joven was the one to get them to do it. He had never been what Courtney would call a rule follower, but he had never gone against Ian’s final decisions. Mari must mean a lot to him if he’s risking his neck like this. 

“I didn’t see anyone standing outside of the door,” Keith explained. “But that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing there.”

“There’s probably key cards or body scans or something,” Wes said. “Could there be a way to get in from the roof?”

“Do we even go in?” Olivia asked, looking around at them. “From what Keith said, there were a lot of guards outside. There’s probably a ton inside if this place is holding over four thousand Anomalies.”

“Orion is definitely going to be heavily guarded,” came a new voice. They all spun around in their chairs to see Joe standing in the entryway. He was frowning, but Courtney could see the pride in his eyes from where she sat. “That's the highest secured facility, as you should all know.”

“Joe —” Joven started, standing up. 

Joe waved him down and walked over to them. He sat down next to Keith and looked at the drawing. 

“I don't want Mari to rot in that place either,” he said. “I’m shocked Ian doesn’t know, but….” He paused before sliding the paper to him. He held out his hand and Wes handed him a pen. He began to draw a new building, although this one had more detail. “Courtney was right - there’s only this window. It’s watched and guarded twenty-four/seven. The entrance probably has about a rotation of ten to twelve guards every hour. The staff have key cards and, if everything's the same as it was eleven years ago, then they also have to submit iris, fingerprint, and voice scans. There was ventilation access from the roof, but Courtney would have to turn into a little rabbit to fit. Mari wouldn’t be able to get through.”

There was a long pause as they all processed his information. Joe passed the piece of paper to Joven to analyze. 

“Then how do we get to Mari?” Olivia asked, holding her head up. 

“I don’t think we can,” Joe sighed deeply, making a face. “We’ll have to get her attention and hope she can find a way out and tell us.”

They went quiet again, trying to think of a suitable plan. Courtney watched Joven intently as he stared at the drawing. It took him a few minutes for him to speak up.

“Courtney,” he said, looking up at her. “You’ll have to watch the window. Get as close as you can and stay there for as long as you can.” 

“You’ll have to take breaks or change,” Joe inserted. 

“Mari has to be in there at some point. Get her attention. She might figure out that she has to come up with her own plan.”

Courtney nodded her head. It would probably be best that she turned into something small, but something that Mari had seen before. Maybe a robin or a hawk. 

“What do we do when Mari’s out?” Wes asked. 

Joven scratch his head — something he did when he was thinking hard — and glanced at Joe. 

“I’ll wait for you at the edge of the fence.”

“There’s less cameras there,” Joe agreed. 

“Wes and Olivia will all go,” he said pointing at them respectively. “Wes, Mari might be hurt when she gets out, so you’ll help her if she needs it. Olivia can be there to make it harder to get her back. Make it look like there’s more of us than there really is. Keith, sorry man, but we need you to stay here. You’ll have to keep Ian from finding out.”

“If both Courtney and I go, then it will definitely look suspicious,” he agreed with a nod of her head.

They all nodded and talked well into the morning. Eventually, Courtney went to her room. She had to rest if she was going to watch the facility all day.


	6. Things of Pain and Destruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violence in this chapter

**Damien**

He stepped off of the cylindrical elevator and was led to the training room door. One of the guards knocked on the door. Once the ring of the metal had faded, another soldier opened the eye panel and glanced at them. The panel shut, there was the sound of locks clicking, and the door opened. 

Damien was shoved into the room. His cuffs were taken off and he was allowed to walk into the training room. Dr. Brevil was already there waiting for him.

“Hello, Sixteen,” he greeted. “You look much better than the last time I saw you.” His tone was light and cordial, but there was a darkness that wasn’t lost on Damien. He remained silent, making Brevil smile wickedly. “Were you told who you are challenging this afternoon?”

“No, sir.”

Dr. Brevil smirked and turned to look over his shoulder. Behind him, practicing on a punching bag were two people that made Damien’s blood freeze. One was a short woman with black hair, and a thin man with a malicious smirk.

“You’ll be facing Eleven and Eighteen,” Dr. Brevil looked back at Damien with a small hint of glee. “Together.”

Damien’s heart jumped and his hands clenched into fists. However, all he did was nod at the other man. 

“You’ll begin in twenty minutes,” he said, walking off. 

Damien didn’t hesitate to go to the large window. The forest was now filled with life. Leaves covered the branches and there were hawks flying in the sky; a few were settling on the ledge outside the window. It was the perfect place to raise their babies. There was a thick fog in the trees, making it look like a scene from a movie. 

Why did he have to fight Thing 1 and 2? He thought Brevil would fight tooth and nail to keep him where he was. Usually, Damien always thought of ways to avoid hitting his opponents, but he had no option now. He had three disadvantages; Thing 1 had super speed, Thing 2 could make you feel pain with a single glance, and they, unlike Damien, enjoyed challenges. They loved seeing others get beat up and loved doing it even more. Damien could only fight. However, his abilities would have little effect on Thing 1 since he would be moving too fast for Damien to focus on. 

Adrenaline was starting to seep into Damien’s heart, making him start to feel jittery. His hands shook in anticipation. He jumped when Brevil’s voice sounded in the room.

“Sixteen, into the ring.”

Damien took a deep breath and turned around. He stepped into the ring and eyed the two suspiciously. Other prisoners gathered around the arena to watch the fight. There were whispers buzzing through the room, but Damien ignored them.

“Get ready,” Brevil said. “Three, two, one, begin!”

For a second, they just circled each other. Then the other man became a blur as he disappeared. Damien felt where he stopped and he turned to confront him. He felt a burst of pain radiate behind his eyes and he grunted. Thing 1 shoved him as he was distracted momentarily. Damien fell back, but he was able to use his weight to roll onto his feet. He stood quickly and spun, his fist flying towards Thing 2.

More pain exploded behind his eyes. He stumbled and Thing 2 hit him in the face. He didn’t even register the hit before Thing 1 punched him too. He brushed off the stinging as he regained his balance. Damien stood still for a second as he thought of what to do. The other two were grinning madly, not even breaking a sweat. Damien blinked, but that was enough time for Thing 1 to disappear again. 

Damien felt a blow to his back and was pushed to the floor. The concrete under him was unforgiving as he caught himself with his hands. He glanced over and saw Thing 1 aiming a kick to his ribs and quickly rolled to the side. The blow glanced off of his shoulder and Damien caught the other man’s foot, yanking him down onto the ground. He wrestled Thing 1 beneath him and hit his temple haphazardly. Dazed, Thing 1 went limp. 

He pushed himself up and confronted Thing 2. The woman seemed a little startled that her partner was on the ground so soon (or at all). Damien aimed another blow. Again, pain enveloped his brain. He would have stumbled again if he had not been expecting it, but he was ready this time. His fist was carried to his target and Thing 2 staggered back. 

His victory was short-lived however. There was a crack as a blow landed on his ribs. He was knocked to the floor, a hand pressing onto his side. Thing 1 scowled as he kicked his side again. There was another nasty crunch and Damien couldn’t help but cry out. 

Thing 1 backed away and Damien gasped for breath. He knew the challenge wasn’t over; they wanted to drag out this fight as long as they could. He inhaled deeply and steeled himself. The floor seemed to wobble slightly as he stood up. Pain burned through his ribcage and he knew that several were cracked or broken. 

This time, Thing 2 lunged at Damien, growling like an angry tiger. Immediately, Damien focused on her and held her away from him. He then, noticing Thing 1 had moved, spun to land a blow on the other man’s nose. Thing 1 jolted back in surprise, blood now pouring from his nose. 

The woman was able to move again and she attacked. Damien dodged her assault. They danced together as they tried to land a hit. As he continued to dodge, Thing 2 got angrier and angrier. She cried out in frustration when her heel hit the air instead of his stomach. 

Eventually, she got tired of playing the little game. Pain erupted in his entire body. A gasping shriek was ripped from his throat as he fell to the floor. His body forgot how to function as it warred with the pain imposed upon him. It reminded him of an electrical current, except it was produced within him. He writhed as he tried to focus on forcing his lungs to work. Distantly, he could hear the woman laughing. 

His eyes shut not of his own accord, but he didn’t care. He could only think about the pain being inflicted upon him. One of them tackled him. He hit the ground, the person landing on his legs and feet. Damien felt something shift in his ankle, but that didn’t compare to what Thing 2 was forcing into him. 

He tried to crawl out from under the person, but it was no use. Damien forced his eyes open and he saw the weight rack on the other side of the room. He grabbed blindly and was overtaken by the pain again. His world went black for a brief second before the pain dulled suddenly. Damien opened his eyes and saw Thing 2 lying on the ground. 

Thing 1 must have tackled him because he stood up. Damien didn’t have time to register what was happening before there was another crack in his side and he was flipped onto his back. Thing 1 looked down at him in loathing. The other man got on top of him and his fingers were around his neck. 

Fear mixed with his exhaustion and pain. He was really going to kill Damien. He focused on the energy within him and unleashed it with panicked vitality. Thing 1 was propelled back and Damien was lying alone on the floor. 

A siren sounded, signaling the end of the challenge. Damien released a breath, but the action made pain flare in his side. He held a hand to his ribs and exhaled weakly.  _ At least he was alive _ , was all he could think. He turned his head to the side and saw the window behind several pairs of feet. There was a small robin standing on the ledge, looking in.

Damien heard a door open and several people stepped into the room. Someone made his way towards Damien and then Brevil’s thin face was above him. The older man’s eyes were bright with excitement.

“Well done, Sixteen,” he said. His voice was filled with joy — something that made Damien was to run away. “Very well done. You almost managed to knock out both of them.”

Damien hummed, regretting it immediately. Brevil smirked.

“You’ll be taken to your room now, Sixteen. We’ll need to conduct your interview session, but I think that can wait a few days. As a reward. You two! Help Sixteen to his room!”

Brevil’s face disappeared and was replaced by two burly men in black uniforms. He was hauled to his feet — both his ribs and his ankle protesting — and he was practically dragged out of the training room. They slapped the handcuffs on his wrists as soon as they were out of the door. The remaining energy Damien had was restricted and he felt like he couldn’t stand much longer. 

His eyelids drooped and exhaustion threatened to claim him. He didn’t even notice that the elevator had taken him to the floor where his cell was until he was pushed by one of the soldiers. He stumbled forward and he heard the men behind him chuckle. 

Damien continued his march in silence and listened to the clinking made by his handcuffs. Nothing was different; the concrete walls were still caged by metal bars. There were no windows and the cells were vaguely determined by numbered doors. There were still guards with tranquilizer guns on every corner of the wide catwalk.

Damien felt a pang when he saw a metal door with the number sixteen etched onto it with white paint. It was a depressing reminder that his life always led back to the same place. Everything confined him. He was defined by his abilities, which he didn’t even fully understand. His room had only four concrete walls, lit by one fluorescent light-bulb. He never saw the outside world except for his days in the training room. 

As far as the world was concerned, Damien wasn’t a person anymore. 

One of the soldiers took out his keys and stuck it in the lock. The door scraped open and Damien was shoved into the room. Without much thought, he stuck his hands into the gap in the door. His handcuffs were taken off, making Damien sigh.

Damien turned around to lay down, but something was in his cell that wasn’t there before. Or, rather, someone. She was sitting on the usually unoccupied bed with her head bowed. She was short and her dyed purple hair was twisted into a bun that sat slightly on the side of her head. She was fiddling with a walkie-talkie, mumbling something in Japanese. 

He stared at her for a moment, fear and dread filling him. He didn’t really want a new roommate; the last few had been terrible. Damien didn’t say anything as he limped to his own bed, sighing as he relaxed. The pain from his injuries flared and he grimaced. He clutched the thin sheet in his hand as he tried to wait out the waves of agony that rolled through his body. 

“You look like you got run over by a tractor.”

The woman had stopped whatever she was doing and was looking at him. Damien looked up at her, but his gaze dropped as soon as he made eye contact with her. 

“Believe me, that would have been preferable,” he said before clenching his jaw. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep, but then the new person could do whatever she wanted to him, so he refused to close his eyes. Instead, he jerked his hand in her direction. “You know, prisoners don’t usually have one of those.”

The woman glanced down at the walkie-talkie before scoffing. 

“The soldier doesn’t even know it’s missing,” she said smugly. 

Damien shifted slightly and he had to hold in a whine. 

“They only work on one frequency,” he supplied. “Just in case you were trying to contact someone on the outside. They can only talk to someone in this building. Closed circuit.”

“How do you know that?” she asked. “Have you tried it?”

Damien huffed something that might have been a laugh, but it morphed into a gasp. He exhaled very slowly before answering her.

“No,” he said. “I’ve had roommates try it though.”

The woman gave him a calculating look. Damien didn’t look at her and instead stared at the dusty floor. He really wished she wouldn’t analyze him.

“I’m Mari,” she said finally. Mari waited a second, but when it became clear that he wasn’t going to speak, she continued. “What’s your name?”

“Sixteen,” Damien said without missing a beat. 

“Sixteen?” Mari said slowly.

His eyes snapped up to her; if anyone said your name, then you had to pay attention (he remembered many times when he didn’t and they never had happy endings). Something flickered in Mari’s eyes, but it was gone just as quickly as it came. Or Damien imagined it, because he was having a hard time keeping up with the conversation.

“No,” she said after a pause. “Not your number, your name.”

Shocked, Damien only stared. It had been a very long time since anyone had referred to him as anything but “Sixteen”. Even before he was assigned his number, he was only called “Mr. Haas”. He didn’t even know if he should trust this woman. She could be playing some sort of trick on him. She could be a test… trying to get him to relax so that he could be punished. She could be —

“What’s your name?” Mari asked again in a gentle voice. 

Damien could see sympathy in her eyes. He hesitated, but finally, he opened his mouth and told her.

“Damien,” he murmured, his voice rough even to his own ears.

Mari nodded with a small smile on her face. “Nice to meet you, Damien.”

“Nice to meet you,” Damien said. 

There was a long pause, slightly uncomfortable, as Damien thought of what to say next. It had been awhile since he had a roommate and he had forgotten how to interact with them. He opened his mouth, trying to think of a question to ask her, but he ended up closing it. Luckily, she spoke for him.

“What happened?”

Damien wrinkled his nose and shifted again. 

“Uh - a fight. I had to challenge Thing 1 and Thing 2.”

Mari looked at him in confusion.

“Thing 1 and 2? Who are they?”

“They’re the big bad of this place. You fight them to see if you’re going to leave.”

“To another facility?”

Damien shrugged slightly, trying not to jostle his injuries. 

“No one knows where you go.”

It went quiet again. Damien found that he didn’t like the silence. Now that he had another person to talk to, he wanted to speak even if his hands shook from the pressure of doing so.

“How’d you end up here?” 

Mari didn’t answer at first. She looked away from him and Damien felt like he did something wrong. He didn’t mean to pry. It’s just she wasn’t acting like a prisoner usually did if they were taken out of their home. There was something different about her behavior. Mari leaned against the wall and tucked her legs up onto the bed. She looked at him nervously, as if she was worried he would take advantage of the knowledge. Finally, after a moment, she answered. 

“I was scouting this place,” she said, glancing at the door. “I was watching from the forest with a few friends of mine. There was a trip wire and we were caught.”

“Why were you there?” Mari hesitated. “I won’t tell, I promise.”

“A friend said it was important,” Mari said. “Said it could help us. We thought it might help all Anomalies.”

Damien didn’t respond, not wanting to insult her friend. But that was a stupid idea. Scouting Orion wouldn’t do anything to help anyone. 

“Anomalies?” Damien said after a minute.

“That’s what the government calls us.”

“They only ever call us by our numbers.”

They were quiet for a while and Damien was left in his thoughts. Mari was nice enough; maybe they could have been friends in the real world. It was a shame that she was going to be stuck here for the rest of her life. Damien had long ago given up seeing anything outside of these walls, but he knew that other people had hope. 

He remembers his old roommate Jeremy hoping that he would get out. Jeremy used to bounce ideas off of Damien while he was trying to sleep. He always felt bad for the older man. Hope was nothing more than an illusion in this place. Once you were here, you never got out. Unless you fought Thing 1 and 2… then sometimes you disappeared. 

Damien, however, had no hope. He had been in Orion for so long that he had forgotten what his best friend had looked like. He had forgotten what kind of posters he had hung on his bedroom walls. He didn’t remember what his father’s voice sounded like. There was no memory of the breathtaking view of his sanctuary or how to get to it. 

He only knew his cell, the scientists, and their cravings for pain and power. His mind only played the memories of his life in the facility in his dreams. Nothing existed before he was fifteen. 

Mari pulled him out of his depressing thoughts. 

“What is it that you do?” she asked suddenly.

Damien blinked. He hadn’t realized that he had started clutching his shirt, or that he had closed his eyes. Mari must have thought that he was in pain; he was, but that wasn’t the reason for his distress. 

“Uh - telekinesis… I think.”

Mari’s eyebrows rose and she cocked her head to the side. “Think?”

“They don’t know. I — I can move things like a normal telekinetic can. That’s how this happened,” Damien gestured to the room, wincing as he did so. Damien went quiet agan, not knowing how to continue. 

“But,” Mari urged.

“But,” Damien sighed, “I’m more powerful I guess. It’s hard to explain. I can feel them? I can feel their energy?” Mari had an expression of confusion, but also impressed. “What about you?”

“Like Magneto?” Damien asked curiously.

Mari chuckled, looking up at the ceiling. 

“Joven likes to say that,” she commented sadly.

Damien looked down at his hands. “I’m sorry.” 

Mari waved him off, although she did look awfully sad.

“No need,” she murmured. “I’ll be out soon enough.”

Damien didn’t reply to that. It was better to let her live with her hope tonight and live happily for a little while longer. He didn’t want to ruin her life more than it already was if they were going to be sleeping in the same room. 

Instead, he shifted into a lying position. He couldn’t help the groan that slipped passed his lips as he moved. He held a hand to his side and waited for sleep to wash over him.


	7. Miracles Don't Follow the Joyful

**Damien**

It had been a week since Damien had met Mari, and he had to say that he was quite glad that she was there. Not that anyone should go through what they were, but he felt like he finally had a friend in this place. The prisoners in this place were never friends with anyone else. Even the roommates were either aggressive and showed you that they were better than you or they ignored you. 

Every other person Damien shared his cell with (besides Jeremy) would laugh at him when he woke up from a nightmare. One of them, whose name Damien had forgotten, would make up stories about him to get Damien in trouble. 

Mari was different. She woke him up if he began tossing and turning in his sleep. She helped him limp to the training room. She always asked if she could help him in some way. At first it was awkward and Damien tried to hide his pain so that she would leave him alone. But after a few days, it became a comfortable routine. Mari became a companion that Damien didn’t know he needed. He didn’t feel the need to hide his discomfort or fear when she was around. 

He had hoped that he would be able to hide his anxiety away from everyone else; fear and anxiety had no place in the facility if you wanted to survive. But he knew people saw it. Damien knew that fear shined in his eyes when Forrestor told him that his observation would include electricity. The guards probably saw it when they went to hit him for catching Mari when they shoved her into the training room.

Dr. Brevil certainly noticed. The questions had been normal so far. How was Damien feeling? Did he have another nightmare? Were there any lasting effects from the challenge? But the questions changed drastically from their usual pattern.

“How do you handle the thought of fighting, Sixteen?”

Damien paused, thrown off by the inquiry. He had never been asked about anything other than how he felt or behaved. Damien brought his hands closer to himself, the cuffs rubbing his wrists. 

“I don’t know what you mean, sir,” he said, his eyebrows furrowing.

Brevil leaned forward - something he did when he wanted Damien to tell the truth - and scratched his chin. 

“How do you prepare to fight? Do you come up with a strategy or do you just leap into battle?”

“I think through it,” Damien said slowly. 

Brevil waited for him to continue, but Damien didn’t say anything more on the subject. The other man sighed and looked down at his seat. Damien expected him to write down his answer on the piece of paper, but he checked something off. 

“How strong is your endurance?”

“I think you know —”

“Answer it Sixteen.”

“Good.” Damien swallowed nervously. Brevil sent him a cold look. “I can last for awhile depending on the opponent. My mental abilities last longer than my physical strength.”

Brevil nodded stiffly and he checked another box. Damien sat there for an hour answering questions about his health, stamina, and abilities. By the time they were done with the checklist, Damien’s side was burning from the strain of holding him still. He only wanted to lie down and go to sleep, but he knew Brevil wouldn’t let him do that.

Finally, Brevil scanned the sheet one last time and set it aside. Damien tried to read it, but Brevil placed it too far away for him to get a clear view. 

“Sixteen,” Brevil said. “I’m afraid your time here has almost come to an end.” 

Damien felt like he was punched in the gut. Some might have thought that leaving Orion would be a good thing. But anywhere Damien went must’ve been worse than here. He remained silent and allowed Brevil to continue.

“Your most recent challenge with Eleven and Eighteen demonstrated extraordinary power and control. In a week’s time, on May 3rd, you will be transported to the Delphinus Facility.”

“Why now?” Damien couldn’t stop the question from coming out. He had been in Orion ever since he had been taken in. Why have him leave now?

Brevil paused, the cogs in his mind working to supply the proper answer.

“You are one of the most magnificent studies we’ve been able to work with,” he said finally. “We wanted to keep you here so that we could monitor how your abilities manifested.” 

“Are you done studying me?” Damien asked.

Brevil grinned, something cold twisted into it. 

“Why suddenly so curious, Sixteen?” 

Damien bowed his head slightly and looked at his hands. Damien hated the way his hands shook and he worked hard to keep his breathing even. Brevil chuckled and clasped his hands in front of him. 

“You will be making routine visits to this facility,” he answered. Brevil picked up a folder and rifled through its contents until he found the right page. “Two times a month. So, no, Sixteen. We are not done studying you. But we felt that it was time for you to get some proper training.”

“Training?”

Brevil chuckled again and shook his head.

“You’ll learn soon enough.” There was a long moment of silence. Brevil’s eyes scanned Damien hungrily as he fiddled with the papers. Although, when he caught Damien looking back, Brevil took a deep breath and set the folder down. “We know that it has been a long time since you have had any contact with your family, Sixteen. If you would like, we may try to contact them for you before you are transferred.”

Damien grimaced and shook his head. 

He didn’t even get to say goodbye before they pounced on him. He didn’t get to see his mother's face before he was taken away. A grim part of Damien wished that he could see the guilt — the fear — in her eyes. It would be a reward to know that she felt sorrow. That she knew she tore her son’s life away from him before he could utter a word of apology.

But that is what they wanted. The agents wanted him hungry for revenge. They wanted to break him apart — wear him down to his primal instincts. They wanted him to be less than human. He wouldn’t entertain the thoughts of revenge and wickedness for too long. They only surfaced when he was forced to fight the scariest opponent in the training room. Or, when he was shuffled into Dr. Forrestor’s office for the experimentation days. Or when he had a nightmare so real that he forgot that he was in a cell.

“Now, would you like us to heal your ribs? You seem in a considerable amount of distress.”

“Will I be awake for it?”

“Of course.”

“No, sir,” Damien said without a second thought. The last thing he wanted to do was watch Dr. Forrestor heal all of his injuries. 

“Then you may go and join Eighty-Three in the training room,” Brevil dismissed. “You will have another challenge in the afternoon before you leave. Eighty-Three will be with you, if you would like to tell her.”

Damien nodded as soldiers lifted him out of the chair. He let himself be walked out of the room and towards the elevator. 

⤔

**Mari**

Training that day had been a little boring in Mari’s opinion. She was taken there in the late morning and had been there for about three hours. The researcher — or scientist as Damien called them — had her break apart metal plates and mold the pieces into certain shapes. She had made elephants, deer, trees, circles, and squares. It was something that she used to do with Joe when they practiced. It was a warmup more than an actual training exercise. 

After an hour of that, she was told that she would be challenging another new recruit (as if any of them had signed up to be here). It was a young boy, no older than seventeen, that could heal himself. At first, Mari thought it would be a difficult fight, but she was too quick for him. The kid didn’t land a single blow and was down within minutes.

Now, she was sitting in front of the window with her legs crossed. Her elbow rested on her knee as she held up her head, staring at the metal butterfly she had made. Her mood had taken a dive since she had arrived. She had put on a brave face for Damien, who clearly needed it. 

He hadn’t smiled once since they met and it bothered her. There was nothing in his face except either appreciation, worry, or grim acceptance. He didn’t talk about his life before his imprisonment. Mari wanted to ask how long he had been here, but she didn’t know if she really wanted to hear the answer. He acted as if nothing could be different than what he was living through now. What had he gone through to come to that conclusion? 

The thought of what could happen to her scared Mari. Of course, she knew the agency had these facilities, but she never thought about what happened inside of them. It never occurred to her that the prisoners were treated to so poorly. When she first met Damien, he was limping and clearly had broken several ribs. He was covered in bruises and looked as if he had been strangled. It was appalling that he was acting as if it was normal. 

The fear would drift slowly into homesickness. Mari was happy that it was her that got caught and not Courtney or Keith. But she missed them terribly. She missed Keith’s laugh and Olivia’s nonsensical conversation starters. She wanted nothing more to eat one of Wes’s delicious pancakes or hear a joke from Joe. There was something missing and she wished that she could find a way to fill it. Perhaps that’s why she tried so hard to become Damien’s friend. She could see his anxiety and his despondence. He needed someone to trust and she offered herself as a shoulder to lean on. 

Movement caught Mari’s eye suddenly. A small robin was standing on the other side of the glass. It was hopping frantically, little clouds of dust rising around its feet. Mari would have laughed it hadn’t made eye contact that she was pretty sure wasn’t normal for a bird. When Mari’s full attention was on it, the robin stopped hopping. It stomped one little leg three times. Mari blinked. It stomped again in the same pattern. 

After the fourth time, being careful not to draw too much attention to herself, Mari whispered.

“Courtney?” 

The robin stopped and cocked its head to the side. Then, it moved its head up and down. Mari’s lungs stopped working for a second as she stared. Courtney was on the other side of the glass. They came back for her; not that she doubted that they would, but she hadn’t thought that it would be so soon. She expected Ian to come up with a plan after a few months. 

But if Courtney was outside, then that meant that they probably can’t get inside. Mari was stuck in Orion unless she could come up with a plan. The thought made her sigh and roll her eyes. Just perfect. But maybe it wasn’t so hard after all. The top of the window was lined by a thin metal beam. The soldiers probably didn’t know that it was there. If she was able to break the glass….

But when? If she was training with a scientist, they could catch her before she even leaves the building. If she is in a challenge and gets seriously hurt, then she couldn’t make it through the forest. 

She was pulled out of her scheming by a hand on her shoulder. Damien was looking down at her, concerned. She smiled at him. He was putting most of his weight on his left foot - his right ankle noticeably swollen through the fabric of his uniform - and he winced when he moved too fast. The black eye and split lip were much better though. 

“Everything okay?” He asked. Mari nodded, glancing at the bird. Damien didn’t notice as his face became serious. “I have to tell you something.”

Mari frowned. She could see now that Damien’s hands were shaking.

“What is it?”

“I’m being taken away,” he said in a rush. “To another facility. It’s where they take you after fighting Thing 1 and 2.”

“You’re leaving?” Mari said in a hushed voice. She still didn’t want to draw too much attention to herself. “When?”

Damien frowned too, a sadness creeping into his eyes. 

“Next week, May 3rd,” Damien answered. “We’re challenging someone and then I leave that night. At least that’s what Brevil said.”

Mari glanced down at Courtney. For the first time ever, she was glad the other girl could read lips. The robin hopped down eight times. That was enough time. 

“Damien,” Mari whispered, looking back at him. “How would you like to get out of here?”

Damien’s frown deepened. He shook his head in confusion and he bent his head away from the scientist’s observation window. 

“How? When?”

Mari looked at Courtney with a small smile. 

“May 3rd.”

Courtney made a head bobbing motion and took off into the sky. Mari looked after her with renewed hope. 


	8. And Here I Thought My Hope Had Died

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares and violence in this one

**Damien**

_ He could feel it again. The itch was burning itself into his skin to make a permanent home this time. It was worse than it was last month. He knew it would be worse, but he was foolish and had gotten used to a life without uncomfortable distractions. If he had been smart, he could have saved himself some trouble and would have been prepared for this. _

_ But no — instead, he had to go to school with… everything. At first, he would feel off. He would think everyone’s eyes were on him and fidget in the uncomfortable chair during the first and second period. Then, he would feel as if he kept getting bitten by flies until lunch. For the rest of the day, he would want to step into an actual fire or into a freezing pool simultaneously.  _

_ There was nothing he could do unless he wanted to skip, which his mom wouldn’t allow. He could tell his dad that he was sick — not that he would care — but he would have to make up work and that would just agitate him further.  _

_ He could try and meditate during class… focus on everyone’s breathing…. But then his teachers would send him to the nurse. If she asked too many questions, then she might figure out that he was going insane. That or a freak. _

_ Suddenly, his surroundings changed. He was no longer in his bed, staring dejectedly at the ceiling, but in a grey room. There was a mirror opposite him and the walls were cast in shadow despite the bright lights in the ceiling tiles. He heard a scraping sound; it resonated in his head and he almost covered his ears. However he didn’t move because he recognized that sound. It was the sound of the walls closing in on him.  _

_ Remembering what he did last time, Damien closed his eyes. He tried to feel the energy around him, but he didn’t feel anything. There wasn’t an image in his mind. There was no familiar pulse within him. Damien’s eyes flashed open and panic bloomed in his chest. He doesn’t have his powers anymore. He can’t stop the walls… He’s going to die. _

_ Dr. Brevil was standing behind the mirror — now a normal window — with an evil smirk. He began to cackle, but Damien couldn’t hear him.  _

_ “Stop!” Damien shouted. “I can’t!” _

_ Brevil continued to laugh at him from behind the glass. For a brief moment, Damien thought the scientist was doing this on purpose. But what good would that do? Brevil would never get rid of his most interesting case. _

_ But the experiment continued. The grimy grey surfaces were closing in on him and he couldn't do anything about it. He was frozen to his spot on the floor. Damien could only watch as the available space got smaller and smaller. Panic choked him and closed his eyes waiting for the pain to come. _

⤔

And the pain came with a vengeance. But it wasn’t because of walls closing in on him. Damien opened his eyes to see Mari crouching next to him as he gasped for air. His hands were balled up in his sheet and he could barely think straight. Pain radiated from his side. 

Damien thought that they were mostly healed, but it would seem he was wrong. Apparently, two weeks was not enough time to start sleeping on his back again. 

“You’re safe,” Mari was saying quietly. “We’re in our room.”

This wasn’t the first nightmare Mari had to help Damien through, but this was probably one of the worst ones. It took a few minutes for Damien’s breathing to return to normal, although he couldn’t take any deep breaths. Finally, he sat up and Mari took her place beside him.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He remained quiet for a moment, unsure if he should include her on this specific horror.

“It started out as a… memory… from when I was twelve or thirteen. It was before I was able to fully control my powers. I… It…” His voice petered out. He inhaled as deeply as he could, holding his ribs, before continuing. “Then I was in one of my old observations. They had put me in a room with moving walls. I tried to do what I did last time, but I couldn’t. All of my abilities were gone.”

Mari watched him sadly. The blanket was twisted around her fingers and Damien knew that something was fighting for attention in her mind. Finally, it must have won because she opened her mouth with an ashamed gleam in her eyes.

“How long have you been here?”

The truth is, Damien wasn’t sure. He knew that it must have been a many years because he definitely wasn’t fifteen anymore. But Brevil never told him and he never asked. It was probably an answer he was better off knowing.

“I don’t know really,” he answered hesitantly. “What year is it?”

“2020,” Mari said, looking scared. 

Damien sat there in wide-eyed shock. He didn’t realize that it had been —

“Fourteen years,” he breathed.

Mari placed a hand on his arm. It was a gesture of comfort, but Damien felt her sorrow as if it was radiating off of her. He sighed and rested his head against the wall. 

It seemed like it should have been longer than that. Damien would have felt the same way if he had been here for fifty years. At the same time, though, there was the surprise that he had lost so much of his life to the government. It was too much time. Now, Damien understood why their mission tomorrow was so important.

Now, he had a reason to break out. He didn’t want that two digit number to get any bigger.

⤔

Damien and Mari were shoved into the training room; Mari would have fallen, but Damien forced her to stay in place. Their cuffs were taken off and they were allowed to walk to the main part of the room. Dr. Brevil was waiting for them.

“Hello, Sixteen,” he greeted. “You look much better than the last time I saw you. And I hope you are treating Eighty-Three well.”

“Of course,” Damien answered. 

Dr. Brevil looked Mari over, but his gaze soon settled back on Damien. 

“Today you are fighting Two-Ninety, Thirty-Eight, and Six,” Brevil informed before walking off. 

Damien didn’t wait for Mari as he made his way to the window across from them. It was another sunny day. The fog that usually threaded through the forest was nowhere to be seen. That was an unfortunate disadvantage, but the forest would have to be enough cover for them. 

“Do you know who they are?” Mari asked him.

“One of them can create portals, I think, I’m not sure about the other two,” Damien shrugged. “Do you know what signal we’re waiting for?” 

“Courtney will get our attention.”

Damien nodded once and shifted gears. They would both be fighting in the challenge, but they also had to focus on the window. His confidence in them had remained steady for the past week, but it slipped a little now.

It would help if he knew what the other two opponents’ powers were. He could usually come up with a strategy pretty quickly, but there was a giant question mark in most of the plan. He had some idea as to how they should fight someone who can create portals. It would be easier to fight him if one of them held onto him, but that was if they could get near him. 

If Damien wasn’t hurt, then they would be fine, but Damien’s ribs hurt more than ever and he still walked with a painful limp. He assumed that it was just twisted, but he was always walking and it never got better. He scowled. He really didn’t want to believe that this was going to be a disaster. 

“Sixteen, Eighty-Three, Two-Ninety, Thirty-Eight, and Six,” came a voice from the speaker. “Into the ring.”

He heard Mari whisper something, but he could quite catch what she said. Probably wishing them luck. He stepped into the ring where the other three faced them, stony faced. Two girls, one guy. 

“Get ready,” Brevil said. “Three, two, one, begin!”

A portal appeared under the other man’s feet and he disappeared. Mari circled around so that she and Damien were back to back. He felt Mari move and knew that the fight had begun. 

Damien blinked and the shorter woman was suddenly bright silver; it looked as though she was made of metal. He groaned and cast his awareness out. The taller woman came at him just as he began to hold the other still. 

She swung at him, but he dodged it. Most of his body protested, but he had no choice. Damien crouched as she tried to land another blow, and then pushed himself up. His shoulder collided with her abdomen and she was propelled off of the ground. 

The man then appeared in front of him and Damien was kicked in the side. He stumbled, but didn’t fall. Mari was in front of him to fight off the man again. The woman was no longer disoriented and rushed forward again. A leg swept across the ground and Damien was thrown off his feet. He prepared himself, but suddenly there was no floor beneath him. 

It went pitch black for a second and then he was thrown into Mari. They tumbled to the ground. Damien heard Mari growl and she got up to continue fighting. Damien hurried to his feet and was greeted by the man. He saw his opponent’s hands move through the air and Damien quickly grabbed onto him.

They fell through the ground again, but Damien was prepared. His feet landed hard on the concrete, but he remained standing. However, his attention was drawn by a shift in his mind. Damien looked up and saw that the metallic girl was moving. There was no time to freeze her because the man had started his attack. 

His opponent didn’t leave any room for error. There was blow after blow that threatened to make contact with Damien’s body and there was no time to catch his breath. Damien did surprisingly well considering his injuries, but the other man was getting quicker. He had just caught an arm when the man was thrusting his knee towards his stomach. 

Damien twisted to avoid the appendage and brought his own arm across the other man’s chest. He pushed himself forward so that he fell into the man’s chest. Since his adversary was only on one leg, he fell back and landed on the floor.

Just as Damien pushed himself up to his feet, there was a loud thunk from across the room. A hawk had just hit the window and was now falling out of sight. Most of the other prisoners laughed and then turned back to the fight. Damien looked at Mari after she downed the taller woman. She nodded minutely. 

Damien hopped up and took up the fight for her as she concentrated on the window. He pretended to go in for a hit, making the metallic woman bend to protect herself. However, instead of trying to land a blow, he thrust his hand out to bat her away. The woman was lifted off of the ground and she flew into the window. 

Everybody watched as she fell to the floor — the metal fading from her skin — leaving tiny cracks in the glass. The training room went silent as they watched the window. The spiderweb grew in size until it reached the edges of the glass. Metal had started bending obviously as Mari continued her manipulation. 

“Soldiers!” Damien heard Brevil’s frantic voice as he entered the room.

Damien looked back at Brevil long enough to see the anger and understanding in his eyes. Brevil started shouting again and Damien grabbed Mari by the elbow. Damien didn’t listen as he ran towards the cracking window. They tackled the window, praying. 

And the glass shattered.


	9. Somehow, I Must Learn to Fly

**Damien**

He heard Mari start screaming as they fell. Damien could see the ground rushing up to meet them and panic filled him. He didn’t know if he had to be the one to get them down safely. He closed his eyes and focused on the shrinking space between them and the ground. However, Damien didn’t have to do anything. He felt them slow down. It was like they were in their own little pocket air.

Damien opened his eyes. They were no longer hurtling towards the earth. He let go of Mari, who was grinning madly as they were lowered under the tree line. Without any warning, they were released and fell. Damien fell to his side to protect his damaged ankle, although he cried out when his ribs throbbed. 

A man with silver hair poked through the bushes. He wore the biggest smile Damien had ever seen.

“Nice to see ya, stranger,” he said, voice high with excitement.

“Wes!” Mari cried and threw herself at him.

“Of course,” Wes replied, hugging her.

A siren that Damien had never heard before was blaring inside of the facility. Red lights flashed through the broken window and there was screaming. Damien struggled to get up and hurried over to Mari.

“Run now, hug later!”

That was all they needed to hear and dove into the cover of the forest. Damien ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He jumped over fallen trees, but he kept tripping on things he couldn’t see. He was unused to running at all, let alone uneven ground covered with life. The forest passed by in a blur of green and brown. He could hear birds crying as they ran by. Branches whipped his face, arms, and legs, but he paid no mind to them. There was the sound of soldiers running after them too. They were faint, but it was enough to know they were being chased. 

Damien forgot about the pain he was in as the adrenaline coursed through him. A shot was fired and watched as a bright blue dart was pinned into a tree ahead of him. He cast his own energy out and felt for their weapons. He couldn’t get all of them, but he yanked some away from their soldiers. He heard several people cry out in shock. 

Mari and Wes ran alongside him, panting. They didn’t look back as more shots were fired. He didn’t have time to stop the darts. He couldn’t look back for fear of getting caught. The promise of freedom was too sweet to risk losing. It was why he was running around with people he barely knew. His only focus was getting out of there. 

There was a sudden dip in the ground and Damien fell. He got a mouthful of dirt before he managed to catch himself. Wes stooped low to help him up and they were running again. More darts flew through the trees. Mari waved her hand behind her and there were more shouting from the soldiers.

Suddenly, they were running in a field. Damien didn’t even know it existed; as far as he knew the forest went on forever. In the distance, he could see a high fence protected with barbed wire. There was a man waiting next to it. He was hopping up and down like a little kid and waving at them to go faster. 

As they got closer, Damien could hear, “C’mon! C’mon! C’mon! We gotta go!”

A woman with long, brown hair dove over them and Damien felt a strong gust of wind lick his back.  _ Air manipulation _ , Damien thought,  _ that’s cool. _

“Keep going!” she shouted.

They pushed themselves faster. A hawk dove from behind them and morphed mid-air into a person. A woman with short, blonde hair landed on the ground in front of them. Damien, Mari, and Wes finally reached the dark-haired man and he inhaled. 

“Olivia!” he called. 

The air manipulator landed next to Damien and grasped at his arm. Mari held onto Damien’s other arm and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Hold on tight,” she said with a grin.

Then he wasn’t in the field anymore.

⤔

They were in some sort of mansion. It had a huge winding staircase next to what Damien assumed to be the front door. The floor was made out of dark, rosewood planks and the walls were painted white. That was all before people were swarming him in concern. 

The adrenaline that kept Damien running for his life was ebbing away. His whole chest ached, but the already broken ribs made his whole side feel as if he had been used as a punching bag his entire life. And he couldn't feel if he was wiggling his toes because the pain dulled his other senses in that appendage. 

“Damien?” Mari asked frantically as she supported most of his weight. 

Wes jumped to Damien’s other side and held him up. There was no way for Damien to feel uncomfortable through the sparks of pain that ignited in his body.

“Ankle,” Damien hissed out. “And ribs.”

“Duh,” Mari scolded herself gently. She looked at Joven. “He’s hurt.”

“We’ll take you both to Joe. He’s waiting for us,” Joven said.

Wes and Mari held Damien up by his shoulders as he limped away from the door. He was led through the hallway that was right of the giant staircase. They went down the hall and opened the door of a large office. The walls were painted white and there were four beds. 

A man with light brown hair jumped out of his seat. Mari was led to one on the far end while Damien was told to sit on the one next to her. Damien held a hand to his side as if that could help ease the pain. 

The new man — who must have been Joe — fussed over Mari for a brief second, but turned to Damien when she insisted she was okay. Damien felt a jolt as he looked at the man’s face. 

He was a worker at Orion. Damien had never been alone with him and had never heard him speak, but he had seen him enough to know his face. The last time Damien had seen him, he had been wearing the all black attire of the scientific assistants. 

Damien didn’t take his eyes off of the man as he kneeled in front of him, his face serious. He slowly reached a hand out and gently held Damien’s chin and turned his head. If he saw Damien’s flinches, he didn’t say anything.

“Black eye, busted lip, bruises on your throat,” he muttered. He glanced at Damien’s eyes before releasing his chin. 

He noticed Damien cradling his side and went to lift Damien’s shirt. Immediately, warning bells mingled with pain in his head. He flinched away and grabbed the other man’s hand before it touched him. The sudden movement drew out wheezing gasps from his mouth, but he didn’t concentrate on that. His focus was on Joe’s hand, but he could see a few people start and take a few steps forward. 

“Hey!” Olivia yelled.

Mari leaned forward, ready to help, but Joe held up his other hand. They all stopped and stayed quiet. Mari stayed on the bed, but she continued to speak.

“Damien, let go —”

Joe held his hand up higher and Mari slipped into silence. The other man looked Damien in the face and he couldn’t help the full-body tremble that it caused.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I should’ve remembered where you just came from.”

Memories flashed in Damien’s mind and his grip on Joe’s wrist tightened. The man smiled reassuringly, although Damien had a difficult time processing the meaning behind it. 

“My name is Joe,” he said. “I know my probably doesn’t bring in happy memories, does it?”

Damien distantly heard someone gasp from behind him. Ignoring it, he continued to stare at Joe. 

“I know how hard and confusing this must be for you. I promise, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a healer, I want to help you. I won’t make you stay awake if you don’t want to.”

Damien’s breath hitched and his fingers twitched. Here he was, injured, and this Orion worker was showing him compassion. The sole reason why Damien was in so much pain right now was because he knew Dr. Forrestor would force him to remain awake for the treatment. 

“I left,” Joe continued. “I’m not one of them anymore. They found out I was healing the patients that came to me. I left before I became one of the prisoners.”

Damien stared at him for a long time. He swallowed thickly before he loosened his grip on Joe’s hand. 

“Broken ribs and a twisted — maybe fractured — ankle,” he whispered. He glanced at Mari and she nodded. Damien forced himself to drop his hand.

“Thank you, Damien,” Joe said softly. “I’m going to lift up your shirt and see what we’re working with.”

Damien nodded and watched as the other man did just as he said. Large bruises littered his pale skin, making it look like he was partially sculpted out of dark purple play-doh. 

“Someone did a number on you,” Joe whistled. “What happened?”

“Thing 1 and 2,” Damien said.

Joe glanced up at him worriedly. 

“What —”

“Dr. Brevil said that I was going to be taken to Delphinus tonight.”

Joe remained quiet as he continued to stare at Damien thoughtfully. After a moment, he shook his head and checked his ankle. He declared that it was most likely a fracture and that he was lucky he was able to run through the forest let alone walk. 

“Okay, I’m going to heal your ribs and then your ankle,” Joe explained. “Then we’ll see what else there is, all right?”

Damien nodded once and let him do his work. A hiss pushed through his lips when Joe pressed against his side. He couldn’t help clutching at the sheet as agony pulsed through him. 

“Sorry,” Joe muttered. 

He closed his eyes and let the energy of the room wash over him. He could see the room full of people in his mind. The pulsing pain was distracting enough to make the mental image blur and warp. He could feel one of the girls pace as they waited. 

For a few minutes, Joe stayed still and Damien followed suit. At first, it didn’t feel like anything was happening. Then, slowly, the pain started to recede. It was uncomfortable to feel his bones mend back together, accompanied by an awful itching feeling. 

Damien kept his eyes closed as Joe worked on his ankle. It didn’t take as long as his ribs did, but Damien supposed that there was less damage there. He finally opened his eyes when relief encompassed his body. There was a soreness that he knew Joe couldn’t take away, but Damien wasn’t going to complain. 

Joe pulled away with a small smile on his face. 

“Feel better?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Damien said.

“Is there anything else that I’m missing? Or anything that you think you need?”

Damien shook his head. Joe’s smile widened and he turned to Mari.

“Welcome back,” he smiled. Mari jumped up and hugged him tightly. It was a while before the embrace was broken. When Mari was seated back on the bed, Joe moved so that he could see everyone while they talked.

“They should stay in here for the night,” he said. “And Ian was looking for you. I said I didn’t know anything.”

“Wait, what?” Mari asked, gaze flicking to Joven. “He didn’t send you guys?”

The other four looked at her guiltily. The blonde girl — Courtney — piped up.

“He wasn’t going to get you,” she said angrily. “He said it was too dangerous and that we could’ve gotten caught.”

Mari sat there in shock for a minute. When she spoke, Damien was surprised to hear that her voice was calm.

“Well, he was right. It was dangerous.” The others bowed their heads, but she grinned. “But you did get me back.”

The others’ faces lit up and a happy energy buzzed through the room. Damien suddenly felt like he was intruding on a special moment. He became awfully aware that this wasn’t his family that he was reuniting with. They were strangers and he was just a prisoner they saved. 


	10. The Beginning of New Possibilities

**Courtney**

Everything seemed happier now that Mari was back. The sun was brighter; the birds were singing cheerfully; there was a light breeze that made the tree branches dance in the distance. The next morning they all greeted Mari with shocked cheers, joyful tears, and open arms. Courtney had even woken up earlier than she normally did to see the faces of her friends when Mari walked in with Joe beside her. 

Courtney waited for the other man — Damien — to come in behind them, but it soon became clear that he wasn’t with them. A frown graced her face. Damien wouldn’t know how to get to the kitchen and no one was watching him in case he needed help. She looked at Joe only to see him staring at her. His mouth twitched and he nodded. Quickly, she left the kitchen with a small smile aimed at Mari.

She didn’t blame the woman for being excited to see her friends; she had been gone for over two weeks, but Damien shouldn’t be left alone. As she left, Courtney heard Joe tell the rest about Damien and what to expect.

Courtney walked silently to the medical room. The rest of the house was quiet as her footsteps echoed down the hall. When she reached the closed door, she knocked thrice softly. There was no answer. She knocked again, louder this time, but there was still no answer. So, carefully, she opened the door and peered inside. Damien was still asleep. 

With a sigh, Courtney stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She sat down in the chair in the corner to let Damien rest. But something was wrong. Damien’s face was pinched and he was clutching the thin blanket that had been laid over him. Even from where she sat, Courtney could see that his jaw was clenched and he was grinding his teeth. His whole body twitched, but Courtney knew he couldn’t possibly be in pain. He must be having a nightmare. 

Courtney glanced between the man and the door. She didn’t know what to do. Should she wake him up? Should she get Joe? She knew that Damien should rest, but he was clearly distressed. The man whined faintly and Courtney knew she had to wake him up. 

So, she went over to Damien’s bed and kneeled next to him. How should she wake him?

“Damien,” she called gently. She could be too rough or he might lash out. He didn’t respond and she tried again, a little louder. “Damien.”

Courtney sat there for a few minutes just saying his name. A few times, Damien would wince when she spoke, but there was nothing that demonstrated that he was waking up. Eventually, Courtney started poking him. She thought shaking him would be too aggressive and so just tapped his shoulder. After a particularly hard poke, Damien jolted awake.

His whole body jerked and his eyes flew open. Courtney leaned back on her feet with an embarrassed frown.

“Sorry,” she said quietly. “You were having a nightmare.”

Damien stared at her for a long moment. Courtney didn’t look away from him, but she didn’t hold eye contact. For some reason that felt like that would be the wrong thing to do.

“It’s fine,” Damien murmured finally. “Thank you.”

Courtney grinned and stood up. Damien sat up, never taking his eyes off of her. 

“There’s food if you’d like some,” she offered. 

“Sure,” he said. 

He stood up and Courtney noticed that he still had the prison uniform on. They would have to get him new clothes soon. For now, Courtney led him down the left corridor at the bottom of the stairs. It led to the large kitchen, complete with bar stool set up, and a large dining table. Everyone was still standing around talking excitedly with Mari. 

The people in the front of the group — Keith, Joven, Olivia and Shayne — went quiet and looked at them. Courtney smiled as she led Damien to the counter where there was a pile of pancakes. 

“How many do you want?” Courtney glanced at Damien, but she saw Shayne staring at him with wide eyes. 

Damien didn’t have time to answer because there was suddenly a loud bang of a door slamming. It was a few moments before Ian came stomping into the kitchen.

“WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?”

“Oh shit,” Courtney heard Lasercorn mutter.

Ian hadn’t noticed Damien and Mari (who was hidden behind the group) yet and glared at Joven. He stood forward with his hands held in front of him.

“Ian, listen —”

“No! You listen,” Ian shouted. “I came down yesterday with my friends telling me that four people didn’t come down to breakfast. I waited four hours for you all to show up, but you had disappeared. Explain to me where you were! Did you scout that facility again when I specifically told you that it was too dangerous?”

Joven’s voice was small as he stepped back.

“Breaking in wouldn’t work, but I think breaking out is much more promising.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Joven glanced behind him and sighed. He folded his hands together and motioned to the group with his head. Everyone moved out of the way, so that Mari was in Ian’s line of sight. Courtney saw the shocked happiness in the man’s blue eyes. 

“Mari?”

Mari nodded and ran forward. Ian opened his arms and held the woman in a tight embrace.

“Oh, my God,” Ian whispered. 

They stood like that for several minutes. Courtney glanced at Damien and noticed he was fidgeting, his eyes darting to everyone’s faces. She frowned a little and reached a hand out to his arm. She brushed it slightly and Damien jerked back. When he saw it was Courtney, he smiled a little, but there was no weight behind it.

“I thought I would never see you again,” Ian muttered suddenly. That seemed to make something click in his mind because he was glaring at the others in a second. “In fact, I thought I told you that we weren’t getting her.”

“And I thought that was a stupid decision,” Joven shrugged sheepishly as he took a step forward. He jerked his head in Courtney and Damien’s direction. “We also have a new member.”

Ian’s blue eyes landed on Damien, who froze as everyone’s attention shifted to him. There was empathy in their leader’s gaze. Ian walked over and stood a decent distance away from Damien with a sad smile.

“What’s your name?” Ian asked gently.

“Damien,” he whispered.

“I’m going to take Damien up to my office,” Ian said, waiting for Damien’s consent before continuing. “We’ll do introductions afterward. Please follow me.”

Ian and Damien left the kitchen after Mari gave the new man a smile. It was quiet for a minute, but Joe looked back at Courtney.

“Did he wake up okay?” He asked in concern.

“He was having a nightmare,” Courtney told him. “But he was fine after he woke up.”

Mari scoffed slightly. 

“He was in prison for fourteen years,” she said sadly. “He’s not going to be ‘fine’ for a while.”

Courtney blanched and could only stare at the woman. She wasn’t the only one. They all looked at her in shock as they waited for her to explain. Mari noticed and shook her head; she didn’t know anything else.

“How old is he?” Noah asked.

Shayne leaned against the island with his hands curled into fists. There was an anger in his frame. Meanwhile, Mari shrugged.

“He didn’t tell me,” Mari mumbled. 

A sympathy filled the room and Courtney suddenly didn’t feel like eating pancakes.

⤔

**Damien**

“Please follow me,” Ian told him.

Damien glanced at Mari and she gave him an encouraging smile and he felt something in his chest ease slightly. He followed the other man out of the kitchen. He noticed that there were many windows that let a lot of light in however they seemed to be strategically placed so that it would be hard to see any hiding places if someone was looking in. 

“My office is on the second floor,” Ian commented. 

Damien followed Ian up the stairs. He looked around the grey painted walls and the wooden floor. Everything was clean, but it wasn’t scrubbed down. It didn’t look like they had cleaning staff or anything. There were a few pictures hanging on the walls. Most of them were scenic, but there were a few that involved people that he had met and some strangers. 

Eventually, they reached a room and Ian opened the door, letting Damien in first. There was a large desk with a chair behind it. There were two chairs in front of the desk. Ian motioned to them and Damien sat down. The other man sat behind the desk; he almost set his elbows on the table, but with a swift look at Damien, he placed them in his lap as he leaned against his chair. 

“My name is Ian Hecox,” he said softly. “I’m the founder of this group. Currently, there’s eleven of us, including me.”

“And what is this group,” Damien said slowly, his eyes narrowing.

“Secret Meeting of Super Humans, or SMOSH for short. Weird name, I know, but we like it. We take in Anomalies that need help or who need a home. Sometimes people just need a place to stay while they reach out to their family and then move on. Do you have anyone you need to contact? Anyone that you want to know that you’re alive?”

Damien wished that he could go and reunite with his family. But he didn’t know where his father was and his mother would call the police if she saw her son walking up to the front door. The thought made Damien scowl. He pushed the thought away and shook his head. 

Ian smiled sympathetically before opening one of the drawers and taking out a piece of paper. It seemed to be a checklist. The other man’s eyes roamed over it, humming thoughtfully. 

“Did you sleep in the medical room?” Ian said, looking up at him. Damien nodded and Ian set down the paper. “One of us will get a room ready for you. We have one free on the third floor. I’m afraid we don’t have clothes for you at this moment, but we’ll shop today. Unfortunately, you’re not going to be able to go into town for a while. The Shadow Agents have been caught near here a few times and since you just left one of their highest secured facilities…. They’ll be looking for you.”

Damien nodded once and let him continue.

“You’ll find that there’s no schedule here. We do eat meals together, but that’s more out of the need for contact than a rule. We do have a pool, as you might have seen, and the orchard is free to wander. There’s a forest, but you might not want to go in there without someone else until you get used to it. We do have a tr —” Ian broke off suddenly. The pause wasn’t long and he was talking again. “A practice room is in the basement. A few of us like to spare when they’re feeling cooped up. Any questions so far?” 

At first, nothing came to mind. But then a word popped into his brain.

“Mari said that’s what the government calls us,” Damien remembered suddenly. “Anomalies.”

Ian’s head wobbled noncommittally. 

“It’s what the Shadow Agency calls us,” he explained. “The rest of the government pretends that we don’t exist while they shuffle money under the table for the agency to use.”

“I didn’t realize they had a name,” Damien said. 

“Most didn’t until about ten years ago,” Ian told him. “They were able to hide for a while, but then too many Anomalies were going missing and people found out why.” Ian hesitated, taking a deep breath, before continuing. “When were you brought in?”

“I was fifteen when I was taken to Orion,” Damien replied. “Fourteen years ago.”

“You were in Orion for fourteen years?” Ian asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” Damien said. “I was going to go to Delphinus today. I fought these other… Anomalies… and apparently I reached some benchmark and was going to be moved.”

Ian leaned forward, his arms moving to the desk in front of him. There was an odd look in his eyes.

“Do you know why they kept you there for so long?”

“Dr. Brevil said that I was one of the most interesting studies they’ve had. I was still going to be examined, but they wanted me to go to Delphinus for proper training. Whatever that means.”

“The Shadow Agency wants Anomalies in the military,” Ian said. “There’s going to be a special force made up entirely of people like us. Rumors say at least,” Ian added quickly.

They were quiet for several long minutes as Ian just observed him. His face was somber. Damien wrung his hands as he felt the man’s eyes analyze him. He started to shuffle in his chair. Ian took a deep breath and rubbed a hand over his face.

“I’m sorry,” Ian said. “I’ll do everything to make sure your transition with us is as comfortable as possible. Is there anything that I should know? Anything that might make you feel more at ease?”

Damien shook his head just as there were three sharp knocks on the door. Ian glanced at Damien, stood up and went to the door. He opened it and Damien saw Joe and Courtney standing in the hall. 

“I thought you were about done,” Joe said nonchalantly. “Courtney offered to give Damien a tour if he’d like one before we do introductions.”

The three of them looked at him and he forced his eyes to remain on them.

“Sure,” he said. 

He saw Courtney grin happily as he stood up. Ian let Damien out of the room, but he spoke before they could leave.

“We’ll do introductions after the tour, we should be done by then.”

Courtney nodded and she led Damien to the stairs.


	11. New People, New Places

**Damien**

“Let’s go! Starting with the front door,” Courtney squealed as she led him down the stairs once more. 

She led him to the front door and gestured to the corridors.

“That one,” she pointed to the left corridor, “leads to the kitchen — which we saw earlier — family room — I don’t know if you saw it, but it’s a big open space next to the kitchen — and the basement stairs. Joe said we might want to wait another day to see the practice room, but that’s in the basement. There’s a small hallway in the kitchen that leads to the meeting room. The other one leads to Uncle Joe’s office, the laundry room, and a bathroom. The room on the very end is for recording diary entries. Ian started doing it when Shayne got here. Apparently, he was really angry when he got here, so Ian made him rant to a camera. We all do it from time to time. It helps.”

Damien nodded to show that he was listening. So far, the tour wasn’t really showing him the house, but just telling him about it. 

“You’ll see it later for the introductions anyway,” Courtney said as if she had read his mind.

They walked up the stairs and onto the second floor. The first room they got to had a couch and a tv. 

“This is the movie room. We do a special movie night every Friday. We also have a room that people use to play video games. We also have Ian’s office again and the computer room. You can print things or copy stuff. They’re also used for gaming half the time, but tell anyone you need a computer and they’ll get off. Ian’s and Joe’s bedrooms are also on this floor.”

There were six bedrooms on the third floor. On the fourth floor, there were another six bedrooms and, to Damien’s surprise, a library. It had tall shelves of books, old and new, and chairs by the window. Pictures lined the walls. It seemed that they all trapped memories in here. It sort of felt like a vault. 

Courtney remained silent as he examined the shelves. He came across a picture of Ian when he was younger, early twenties maybe. He was standing on a bridge next to a taller man with dark brown hair. Damien looked at Courtney, pointing at the picture.

“Who is this?” 

Courtney frowned and walked over to stand beside him. She gazed at the picture and her shoulders slumped. 

“That was Anthony,” she murmured sadly. Damien picked up on the longing in her voice. 

“Oh,” he replied. “I’m sorry.”

Courtney inhaled deeply and shook her head.

“It was shortly after I joined. We used to live in another house up north. It was raided and burned to the ground. The news said it was a mob who had had it out for the previous owner, but it was really the Agency.”

Damien hummed as he peered at the picture. “What happened?”

“They were keen on getting Ian and Anthony. It was their primary goal. Ian got away, but Anthony wasn’t so lucky.”

“Why would they want to get Ian and Anthony?”

“They started SMOSH. The Shadow Agency doesn’t know the rest of our identities, but they know about the group.”

“How do they know who Ian is?”

Courtney shrugged. “Ian said that he was a bit of a troublemaker when he was younger.”

Damien nodded, but there was something uneasy swirling within him. If the Agency knew who Ian was and what he was doing, then they weren’t as safe as Damien thought.

“Why didn’t they just take Anthony to one of their facilities?”

“They were, but Anthony wouldn’t stop fighting. He kept trying to get away and said a number of stupid things. Then they just… He was gone.”

Courtney’s voice cracked and Damien looked over to see tears streaming down her face. He backed away from her as if he had just lit her on fire. 

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I shouldn’t have asked all of those questions. I didn’t mean to pry.”

Courtney waved him off, wiping her tears away.

“It’s fine — You’re fine. It’s nothing. I just haven’t thought about him in a while.”

“I’m sorry —”

“Don’t worry about it,” Courtney said with a small, sad smile. “Let’s continue with the tour.”

Damien followed Courtney out of the library with a heavy heart. He couldn’t help but feel that he screwed up. He was just curious; Damien didn’t mean to make her cry. Maybe he could make it up to her somehow. 

⤔

Damien followed Courtney and tried to ingrain where everything was into his mind. He was led down the left corridor at the bottom of the stairs. It wasn’t as long as the right hallway he was in last night, but it was long enough. It led to an open space home to a large kitchen, complete with bar stool set up, and a large dining table. Beyond the small divider wall, Damien could see couches and a large t.v. mounted on the wall. The small passageway that led to the meeting room was almost hidden. If Damien hadn’t been looking for it, his eyes would have skipped over it. 

Everyone else was standing around the kitchen, talking to each other. Anxiety flared beneath Damien’s skin once more. He had been uneasy when with Courtney and Ian, but the entire group seemed more threatening. He suddenly had the urge to bolt out the front door.

Ian, who had finished his meeting with Joe, spotted them. Without a word he walked into the meeting room and everyone else followed. The narrow hallway led to a larger room with an oval shaped table with eleven chairs stationed around it. Above the table was a large chandelier that radiated a white light through the room. There was another narrow hallway on the opposite side of the room and Damien wondered where it led. Why hadn’t Courtney told him about that?

Someone brushed his shoulder, making Damien jump. He turned and saw Wes smiling sheepishly. He was holding a chair.

“Sorry, buddy,” he said. 

“It’s all right,” Damien murmured. He pointed to the chair in the other man’s hands. “Is that for me?” Wes nodded. “I’ll take it. Is there assigned seats or…”

“No, sit wherever you’d like,” Wes stated as he handed over the object. Damien nodded thankfully and walked to the table. 

He set the chair down in between the large space between Ian and Courtney. Everyone was looking at Ian as they all settled down. It was clear that he was the leader figure of the group (even though Damien knew he was the founder). It was quiet for a moment and then,

“Today,” Ian began, smiling, “we are lucky to have Mari back.” Everyone cheered and whistled as Mari beamed around the table. “We are also welcoming a new member.” 

Everyone cheered again and there were several happy faces as they looked at him. It was odd. It had been a long time since he was welcomed in such a kind way.

“So, Damien,” Ian continued. “Since you don’t know us that well, we are going to introduce ourselves. Our names, our abilities, a fun fact, or whatever you want to do. You’ll be the last one to go. Okay? I’ll go first. As you know, I’m Ian Hecox. I can, for lack of a better phrase, I can read people’s minds. Don’t worry, I don’t just prod into peoples’ minds unless I have a very good reason. Generally, I’ll hear loud thoughts, but that generally means you wanted me to hear you.”

Beside him, Joe sat up straighter. He looked at Damien with the same reassuring smile from yesterday.

“I’m Joe Bereta, but some people like to call me “Uncle Joe”. I’m a Mender and I take care of everyone when they’re sick or they get hurt on their little missions. Other than that, I’m just a guy who likes to party!” 

Everyone burst out laughing and Joe’s smile turned silly. He puffed out his chest and danced in the chair, singing something that Damien couldn’t understand. Damien cracked and chuckled at the man. He understood why they called him Uncle Joe. 

When Joe stopped dancing the man with dyed orange hair began to speak.

“I’m David Moss, but I go by Lasercorn. I can make fireballs in my hands,” he said in a childish voice. Damien chuckled with everyone else. “I was one of the first people to join along with Joven.”

Joven, who was next to Lasercorn, rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but I knew Ian before you.”

“Well, yeah,” Lasercorn exclaimed. “Working with him will do that.”

Damien heard Mari laugh at their banter. Joven cleared his throat and looked at Damien.

“Joshua Ovenshire, but everybody just calls me Joven. As you may have guessed, I can teleport people over long distances. Not across all of California, but close. I have to be there though. I, uh, worked with Ian about a year or two before SMOSH picked up. I’ve been here ever since.”

Joven smiled and sat back in his chair, sipping on something in his mug.

“You know who I am,” Mari smirked. “Mari, metal manipulator.”

Damien smiled wryly and glanced at Ian. He frowned slightly, but didn’t say anything.

“My name is Noah,” said a thin man with brown hair next to Mari. He had glasses and he looked like he should be in college. “I can make portals. You know, you step into it and you land somewhere else. They can’t be too far away though and I have to see where they’ll go.”

“My name is Keith. I came here with my boy, Noah, a few years ago. I can camouflage myself to any environment. Basically, I turn invisible, but it’s a little more complicated than that.”

Damien nodded, understanding and looked at Olivia who was next to Keith. 

“I’m Olivia,” she said as she looked at Damien sweetly. “I can fly —”

“Air manipulator,” Shayne cut in. He glanced at Damien. “She doesn’t like calling it that.”

“A fun fact — uh — I can’t swim.”

“Well, who needs to when you can just _fly_ _over_ the water,” Damien joked. His breath hitched in worry that he overstepped his boundaries, but everyone started to laugh. 

“Oh! And I’m scared of butterflies!” 

Damien smiled reassuringly. She was the only one so far to convey a real fact about herself.

Shayne was next. 

“I can manipulate and create force fields. I came here a few years ago after some guy called the Shadow number on me.” 

Then, it was Wes, who has super strength. He loves cookies and other sweets. Then it was Courtney’s turn. She can, as Damien figured out yesterday, shapeshift. She can turn into any animal she wants. Then, finally, it was Damien’s turn. His glee suddenly turned sour as everyone’s eyes landed on him. He fidgeted in his seat as he searched his mind for the right words.

“Well, first, I’m Damien Haas. I — oh, how to explain it — I’m a telekinetic of sorts. I can move things, like a normal person with telekinesis, but there’s more to it than that. I don’t really understand it.”

Ian leaned forward, interested. Everyone was quiet as they stared at him. He could see all of their heads fill questions and he had to hold in a sigh. He hid his hands under the table as they began to shake. He couldn’t find the right way to describe it. Luckily, he was saved by Ian.

“I think that’s enough of introductions. Any questions?”

He asked questions like rules — of which there were little — about living there and what their lives looked like. They asked him what his habits were and if there was anything they could do to make him more comfortable. They talked for another half an hour before they were dismissed. They all stood up as Ian addressed Damien.

“Welcome to the family, Damien. You’ll fit in great here.”

Everyone clapped and cheered for him one final time. Courtney jumped to his side and looped her arm through his. Damien almost pulled away, but he pushed the uncomfort away and smiled at her.

“I’ll show you where your room is!” She said excitedly. “The one on the third floor, right?”

“Yeah,” Ian called behind them.

Courtney led him down the smaller hallway Damien had noticed earlier. 

Within a few seconds they were stopped at a dead end. Courtney removed her arm from his and pushed on the wall. There was a click and it opened. Damien walked out and was greeted with a view of the back of the staircase. 

“Cool,” was all he could say. He heard Courtney laugh as she closed the secret door. 

⤔

**Ian**

Thunder echoed through the house. The rain battered against the windows and Ian worried that the power would go out. It was unusual for them to get rain, but it was welcomed with open arms. It was late into the night. He had waited for everyone else to go to bed before making his way to his office. The yellow light from the lamp made him drowsy, but he had to finish his work. 

He sat at his desk with paper and a pen in front of him. He had handwritten files on everyone that stayed here. Joven, Lasercorn, Wes, Mari, Joe, Noah, Shayne, Keith, Courtney Olivia… and now Damien. 

Ian felt bad for the newest member. It wasn’t going to be easy to get the man to settle in; his life was going to change drastically compared to what it was before. And from what Joe told him earlier, the transition might not be as easy as it seems. 

_ Damien Haas  _

_ May 4th  _

_ Damien came in with Mari after a rescue mission conducted by Courtney, Joven, Olivia, and Wes — Keith and Joe were also in on the mission. According to Joe, Damien had several broken ribs and a hairline fracture in his ankle upon arrival. He fought two Anomalies two weeks prior. He said he was going to be taken to Delphinus from Orion on May 3rd.  _

_ Joe said that he did not react well to being touched suddenly and recognized him from his years working at Orion. When interacting with people he doesn’t know, he is quiet and observant. He does not react at first when greeted.  _

_ When asked if he wanted to contact anyone, he declined. It does not seem that he has family or friends to notify, or at least not members that he would like to contact.  _

_ Further observation is required. _

Ian was upset that Joven went behind his back and disobeyed orders — one of the few that Ian actually gives — but he was also happy. Everything went fine; Mari was back; they had a new member of the family. But Ian couldn’t help but worry about the repercussions. He knew there would be. They not only successfully got one prisoner out, but one of their longest staying prisoners. The Agency wasn’t going to just let Damien go. They weren’t going to let someone make a fool out of them. He knew that they thought his group was responsible. It was only a matter of time before they acted on their suspicions. He only hoped that they would see it coming.

He was pulled from his worried thoughts by the buzzing of his phone. Sighing, he pulled it out of his pocket. It was a text.

**_Safe. 1108 Sunny Blvd. Jonestown._ **

Ian sighed again. Instead of setting the phone down and getting some sleep like he should have, Ian went to his contacts, clicked on Joven’s name, and held it to his ear. He listened to the phone ring for a moment before the man on the other end picked up.

“What do you want, Ian? Do you realize how late it is?” Frustration was clear in his voice.

“I have a job for you,” Ian said.


	12. It May Be a Long Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare in the beginning of this chapter!

**Damien**

_ He was strapped down to the examination table. There were straps across his chest and his knees. His wrists and ankles were bound as well. Damien wiggled, testing them, but the binds didn’t loosen. Accepting that he wasn’t leaving anytime soon, he looked around. He was in the Examiner's room.  _

_ The walls were made out of exposed steel and cement. There were glass cabinets displaying all of his tools and testing equipment. The lights above him threatened to blind him. He wished they would when he saw the machine beside him. It was, as the scientists affectionately call it, the Zapper. It was beeping, letting Damien know that it was warming up. _

_ His heart raced and he could feel his palms start to sweat. He forced his breathing to remain steady, but the rest of him wouldn’t. He couldn’t do this again. He thought he had escaped; he thought his living nightmare would be over.  _

_ Did he dream about everything? Was it all a hallucination? Maybe. It wasn’t a stretch. Damien could imagine the scientists trying that method to break the prisoners.  _

_ There was a screech as the door opened. Someone walked in, but they didn’t come towards Damien. They walked around the room behind him. There was clinking as they played with glass and metallic instruments. Damien tried to turn his head and look, but the straps kept him down. The person behind him chuckled. _

_ “Be patient, Sixteen,” he said. “I’ll be with you soon.” _

_ Damien went still. It was the Examiner. He was always the one to conduct the experiments, so Damien didn’t know why he was surprised.  _

_ “Today,” the Examiner began, “we are going to study how electricity affects the body. We know what it does to a normal human, but we wonder what it does to someone like you.” The man walked around to face Damien. His wrinkled face was twisted into a merciless grin. His dark brown eyes were filled with a haunting glee. “Especially someone of your…. endurance.” _

_ The Examiner walked to the machine and unplugged thin cables from its sides. He went to Damien and placed them under his ribs.  _

_ “I will remove them if it gets to be too much,” he murmured. Damien flinched away when the other man got close. The Examiner chuckled dryly. “You trust me, don’t you, Sixteen?” _

_ The Examiner walked back to the machine and sent Damien a wry smile.  _

_ “Let’s see what happens,” he said, and flipped a switch.  _

_ The last thing Damien knew was his own screaming. _

⤔

Damien sucked in a gasp as he sat up. His entire frame shook and he put a hand over his heart. It was beating three times the normal speed. He was covered in a cold sweat and he wiped his face. He was exhausted; it felt as if he had run a marathon in his sleep. The blankets were damp as he pushed them off of his legs. He sat up on the bed and tried to get his breathing to go back to normal. His clothes — one of the new outfits Joven and Olivia had bought him — were wrinkled, his shirt damp.

He sat there for what felt like an hour, just breathing. When his lungs were able to draw in enough air without his own guidance, he leaned back against the headboard. He didn’t dare close his eyes, afraid that he would fall into another nightmare. 

The room was full of light and he could see water drip from the small railing that guarded his window. It must have rained last night. It was early in the morning; he found that he was relieved to be able to look out a window and tell what time of day it was. Damien suddenly found himself leaning against the railing, looking over the land below. 

His view included the long driveway that led up to the house. Well, Damien supposed that it was less of a house and more of a mansion. The forest that Courtney told him about seemed to wrap around the property and covered a decent amount of land away from the home. 

The small breeze licked at his face and Damien closed his eyes. He had never allowed himself to just enjoy the outdoors and what it offered. Only when it was taken away from him did he realize how much he loved it. He loved how the wind felt when it brushed against his skin; how the sun could warm your hands in the cool Autumn breeze. He missed how it smelled after the small rain showers California received every so often. 

It soon became a reminder. A hazy idea of what the future could have been. He was filled with despair and longing when he looked out of the training room window. He knew the action brought him nothing but negativity, but he couldn’t stop. It was a glimpse of hope in the darkness. It gave him something to hold onto other than the cement walls of his cell. He never thought he would chase that hope for freedom through the window. And now he was out; back in the real world.

Movement caught his eye at the corner of the building. Joven had appeared out of thin air and was now walking to the front door. Damien was confused. He was walking slowly and on the balls of his feet. Why was he acting like he didn’t want to be seen? Surely, he was allowed to come and go as he pleased.

Damien’s musings were cut short when there were three soft knocks on his door. He jumped and spun to look behind him as if someone had entered the room with an axe. Of course there was no one. With one last look to the sky, he pushed himself away from the window. He made it to the door just as the person beyond it knocked again. Damien opened the door and saw Wes holding a bag with a giant smile on his face. 

“I thought you might want a haircut,” Wes said, holding up a bag. 

Damien stared at him for a moment. He was looking for any indication that he was lying, but could find none. Wes’s smile faltered slightly and Damien realized that he was still staring. He inhaled sharply and held the door open.

“Yeah, all right,” Damien said.

Wes’s smile widened and he walked into the room. Damien frowned, wondering if this was a bad idea. Shaking his head of any negative thoughts — the idea of poison had slipped into his brain — he finally closed the door. Wes took the small desk chair and set it in front of the window. 

“You can sit down,” Wes told him. He placed his bag on the desk and rummaged through it. “What length would you prefer?”

Damien, who hadn’t been able to choose anything since he was fifteen, didn’t care.

“Just don’t make me bald,” Damien joked.

Wes threw him another reassuring smile and pulled out clips and a pair of scissors. A tendril of anxiety curled around Damien’s heart. He knew that it was unlikely that Wes would hurt him for any reason, but unease wouldn’t go away. When the silver-haired man stepped behind him and started to section his hair, Damien’s muscles tensed and his breathing almost stopped. He held himself still as he heard the scissors cut at his hair. 

Wes remained silent as he worked, which Damien was glad for. He didn’t know if he could talk without a tremor in his voice at the moment. At some point, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the fact that he could feel Wes breathing on his neck. His lips pressed together as he tried to prevent his mind from creating the image of what was happening; he could already feel the blade next to his head, he didn’t need to see it too. Damien took to counting the seconds to distract himself.

It was about fifteen minutes later when Damien heard the clinking of the scissors being set on the table. 

“You can go look in the mirror,” Wes said, turning to look at him. 

Damien nodded silently and headed into the bathroom. His hair was much neater than he had seen it in a long time. It was shorter on the sides and in the back with a mop of dark brown on top. Although his hair looked clean, the rest of him looked a mess. He was thin, much thinner than he thought he really should be. His eyes were supported by large, dark circles and there was something haunted within them.

With a sigh, he walked back into the room and smiled at Wes. 

“Looks great,” he said quietly. “You’re surprisingly good at this.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice. I have a lot of siblings so…”

Wes grimaced at the mention of his siblings, and so Damien veered away from the topic. 

“Do you want to go get breakfast?” Damien asked. “I was thinking of going when you knocked.”

Damien wasn’t thinking of getting food, but he didn’t want to make Wes feel upset like he did yesterday with Courtney. Wes’s face brightened and he stood up straighter. 

“Sure!” he beamed. “I’ll just take all of this back. Don’t worry about the hair,” Wes said, gesturing to the bits of hair on the ground. “I’ll come back later and vacuum it.”

“Oh, you don’t —” but Wes was already out of the room. “Have to.”

Damien took the chance to go in the closet and change his shirt. No sooner was the fabric over his face than Wes was back in the doorway. Damien followed Wes down the stairs and through the left corridor. It led to the open space of the large kitchen, complete with bar stool set up, and a large dining table. Ian and a very tired looking Joven were sitting at the table. Joven gave the two of them a mock salute and continued talking to the man next to him. Noah and Shayne were sitting in two of the stools, laughing at something the younger one said. And there was someone in the living room because Damien could hear the news on t.v.

“What do you want?” Wes inquired as he opened up the fridge. 

“Uh,” Damien began, not knowing what he should say. 

Luckily, Joe walked in at that moment.

“He should probably just have toast for now,” he said with a small smile. “They don’t feed you five-star meals in Orion.”

Damien knew he was probably right and nodded.

“Toast is fine,” he said to a slightly disappointed Wes. However, he listened and went to put toast in the toaster. 

Someone brushed up against his arm and Damien jumped. Shayne was next to him with a banana peel. 

“Sorry,” he said. He opened a cabinet and threw the peel in a trash can. When the cabinet was closed, Shayne leaned in with a small smirk. “Wes wanted to make pancakes for you. He does that with every new member.”

Damien smiled at the thought, although he felt bad.

“But you’ll make it up to him,” Shayne reassured. “He’s not actually upset.”

Damien hummed as he heard the toaster pop up. Wes put two pieces on a small plate and handed it to

Damien. 

“Do you want anything else?” Wes asked.

“I’ll just have this for now thanks,” Damien told him.

It was an awkward, yet enjoyable affair. Damien sat at the dining table, eating quietly as he listened in on conversations or people grumble as they walked in. At some point, Shayne sat down across from him, but he didn’t talk to Damien. They just sat comfortably in each other’s presence. 

He looked out over the view of the backyard. The space stretched on forever. It looked like it had a small orchard and several pine trees. Actually, far beyond the orchard, there was a small clearing before his view met a treeline. That must have been the forest he was told about. It wasn’t daunting like the forest surrounding the facility; it was more like a scene out of a fairytale he had read as a child. 

Closer to the house, there was a large patio. The ground dropped off and sloped towards the small trees with stairs leading down to a pool surrounded by lounge chairs. He could imagine members of the group having fun and playing in the sun. Speaking of, the giant ball of gas had risen above the treetops, making the leaves look like they were burning.

“Thank you,” Shayne murmured suddenly.

Damien looked at the other man in confusion. 

“Why are you thanking me?” he asked slowly. 

Shayne smiled and looked at the other side of the room. Damien glanced behind him too and saw Mari surrounded by a few other people.

“For bringing her back,” Shayne said, looking at him. 

Damien looked back. As he looked at his face, Damien felt an odd tingling in his chest. It was familiar somehow.

“It was nothing,” he said finally. “I should be thanking all of you.”

“It’s what we do,” said a new voice behind them. Damien spun around in his chair and saw Joven standing there. “We help people. You don’t have to do anything.”

Damien smiled in appreciation. Joven returned it before following Ian out of the room. 

⤔

The rest of his day was fairly uneventful. He went to the library and decided to read  _ To Kill a Mockingbird _ to pass the time until lunch. During the meal, Keith knocked his glass off of the table. The sound made Damien’s heart jump into his throat, but he soon settled down. 

Around three in the afternoon, as he was walking up the stairs, Shayne came up to him with a small smile on his face. 

“I was wondering if you wanted to go take a walk into the woods,” he said tentatively. “I saw you looking at it this morning and I thought you might like to see it.”

Damien was taken aback by the suggestion, but he smiled nonetheless. 

“Sure,” he agreed. 

Shayne perked up and shrugged. 

“All right,” he said. “We can go out the back door.”

Damien followed him through the house and out the door. He caught Courtney’s eye and nodded politely. She smiled before turning to whatever was on the table. 

The weather hadn’t changed much from that morning. The light breeze ruffled his hair and it was odd to feel it against his scalp. It smelled like rain and Damien couldn’t help but feel giddy. He had  _ missed _ that scent. Their walk across the land was quiet, only interrupted by small comments on the orchard or the pool. 

Shayne told him a small story about them all deciding to have a belly flop competition.It was shocking how easy it was to talk to Shayne. He was still nervous, but there was an air of calm around him that Damien appreciated. 

The forest was almost like a whole other world in and of itself. The trees created a dome-like structure around them. The sound was muted, only perturbed by the chirping of birds. The great pine and conifer trees towered above the two men as they hiked down an obscure path. The illuminated trees stood tall and proud like soldiers of the Earth. Their rigidness, beautiful and structured, bowed down to the whispering that they provided. Damien thought that perhaps he could hear the secrets of the forest if he listened hard enough.

Eventually, they halted their trek and just took in the nature around them. 

“It’s beautiful,” Damien uttered a few minutes later.

“Yeah,” Shayne said. “It is.”

They were silent for a few more minutes, but Damien could see the other man open his mouth every couple of seconds. 

“Is something wrong?”

Shayne shook his head. It took him another few tries, but he finally asked the question he wanted to.

“Do you remember much from before you were taken to Orion?”

Damien didn’t expect that. His brain stuttered for a second and his mouth parted slightly in shock. Shayne took that as a bad sign.

“Sorry,” he said. “That’s too —”

“No,” Damien interjected. “No, not much.”

“Oh.”

It was the truth. He didn’t remember much from before he was taken to the facility. It was a very long time ago.

“Sometimes I get flashes, but they’re not always clear,” Damien related. “I remember my mom and dad. A few things that happened with them. I remember a few things from when I was younger. Sometimes I think about this friend I had, but I can’t remember what he looked like or even what his name was. If I went back — if I could go to my old house — I would probably remember.”

Shayne was quiet for a second, and Damien was worried that he had said too much.

“It makes sense,” he said finally. “I mean being there was traumatic.”

“And I never thought I would be getting out, so I never bothered to think about it much,” Damien agreed.

They went quiet again. Birds crooned above them and the sound was kind of relaxing. 

“What did you do before you came here?” Damien whispered after a while. 

He looked up at the other man carefully. He didn’t want to touch a nerve. Though Shayne didn’t look bothered by the question. If anything he looked unsure of how to answer. Damien let him take all of the time he needed. After a while, Shayne spoke.

“I was in high school,” Shayne began. “I was seventeen when someone called the Shadow Number. I don’t know how they found out, because I rarely used my abilities if I could, but they did.”

“That sucks,” Damien commented.

“Yeah,” Shayne scoffed and nodded in agreement. “It happened to my best friend a few years before that, so I was super careful after that. I saw an agent knock on the door as I was walking down the sidewalk. As soon as I knew he hadn’t seen me, I bolted. I literally ran away with nothing but a few textbooks and a jacket that was stuffed in my bag.

“I’ve been on the run ever since, really. I hopped from town to town. I did a few odd jobs so that I could pay for a bus ticket every couple of weeks. I mostly stole food and clothes — got pretty good at it too. That’s how Mari and Lasercorn found me. I decided to stay a little longer in Jonestown — that’s where we are — and had to get food for the day, but I had run out of money. So,” Shayne laughed a little, “I hid a small loaf of bread in my coat and acted as if I was buying a pack of cigarettes. I pretended to have left my money in my car and left the store without any trouble. I thought I was clear, but Mari and Lasercorn followed me into the alley by the store. 

“They were going to make me return it, but I explained my story. They took me in and I’ve been here for almost six years.”

“That’s rough,” Damien frowned. “I’m sorry.”

Shayne shrugged. 

“I got over it.”

They remained silent as the sun started to set. The forest around them glimmered with a golden aura. The silence wasn’t awkward though. Damien actually felt at ease when they began their walk back to the house.


	13. Oh, The Days We Have

**Mari**

The day was a bright one and the sun filtered through the large windows that led to the backyard. There were no clouds in the sky and there seemed to be no wind. People buzzed through the kitchen although there was no rush in their movements. It was a calm Saturday afternoon.

At the moment, Mari was sitting with Damien. Puzzle pieces were scattered between them. They were working on a two thousand piece puzzle, and Mari had to admit that it was a little daunting. However, in less than an hour, Damien had finished almost half of the puzzle. Mari was of little help.

She was just happy that Damien was relaxed. He had been tense and uneasy — understandably — ever since he had arrived. He was calmer when he was talking to Shayne or Mari, but this was the first time Mari had seen him let his guard down a little bit. His shoulders weren’t anywhere near his ears and it brought a smile to her face. 

It was commendable, Mari thought, how easy everyone was taking it. They all tried to make themselves known if they were behind him and didn’t touch him without his permission unless it was an accidental brush of the shoulder as they passed. They didn’t press him for an answer or do anything he didn’t want to, but they didn’t baby him either. They may be stupid sometimes, but they know how cruel the world can be. None of them would dream of driving Damien away; he had become a member of the family even though he had only been there for a week. 

Mari groaned when Damien snapped together four pieces to the rest of the picture. 

“You are insanely good at this,” she grumbled, tugging on one of her braids. She couldn’t make sense of any of it. To her, the pieces could fit anywhere.

“You’re just not patient enough,” he quipped with a small smile. “I love doing puzzles.”

“Really?” Mari looked up at him, curious. 

Damien nodded, putting another piece into place.

“Well, I grew to love them,” Damien corrected. “I used to find them super dull, but I liked finishing the pictures, so…” he shrugged at this. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, “And it was one of the only things that didn’t make Dad lock me in a closet.”

The smile slid off of Mari’s face. Damien seemed to realize he said that out loud because his smile disappeared soon after. His hand froze midair and Mari heard his inhale pause halfway through his nose. He glanced up at her and Mari could see icy fear in the brown orbs. 

“Uh, you know what... I’m tired,” he stuttered. “I think I’m going to go, uh, take a nap.”

Mari didn’t get a chance to respond before he was hopping out of the chair. He rushed out of the kitchen, leaving the puzzle unfinished and Mari stunned. 

The only thing that was running through Mari was the overall feeling of  _ oh my god _ ,  _ oh my god _ . She pulled her hands in and squeezed her cheeks in disbelief. Did Damien just say what she thought he did? Was Damien’s dad an awful person? Was it he who put Damien in the Shadow Agency’s hands? Would he do that to his own son? Did Damien just have a terrible life since birth? 

The puzzle — the room — had disappeared. The questions ran wild in her head, but the last one seemed to hit her harder. If what she was thinking was right, then Damien was more… traumatized than she had thought. Being wrongfully locked up in Orion wouldn’t be his first experience of cruelty. Mari processed nothing other than the frantic theories rampaging within her skull. The thoughts made Mari incredibly sad. She didn’t want to think that her new friend had known more pain than what she had already seen. 

Is that why he is so much more mature than she would have thought he should have been? If he was imprisoned at fifteen, then he wouldn’t be as knowledgeable as he is. He’s definitely said stuff that she had learned in college. It could have been that he was tutored in the facility, but Mari didn’t think that the Shadow Agency really cared about stuff like that. 

“Mari?” 

Mari spun around in her chair to see Ian standing behind her. His face was full of concern and she knew that he had heard something from her mind. 

“Are you okay?”

Mari forced the thoughts lingering on Damien to the back of her mind - to where Ian could only see them if he intentionally invaded her privacy. Damien’s potential backstory wasn’t her responsibility to reveal. 

“I’m fine,” she said. “Just something from when I was in Orion with Damien.” Ian’s look of concern didn’t diminish, if anything it was even more prevalent. She turned in her chair so that she was fully facing him. “Do you need something?”

His eyes were calculating and he hesitated. Mari could see something else; another emotion mixed in with determination. He tried to keep it hidden, but Mari has known him for nine years and could see it clearly. After a long moment, he shook his head.

“I was going to send you and Lasercorn to scout the town,” Ian stated. “But I can get Keith or Olivia to do it.”

Mari stood up from the chair. 

“No, I’m fine,” Mari assured quickly. “I’ll go.”

Ian gave her a skeptical once over.

“Really,” she said, taking a step closer to him. “I’m fine.”

His eyes flickered over her face, still uncertain. But he sighed and motioned to the entryway. 

“Lasercorn is waiting at the staircase,” he said finally. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Mari nodded and left the kitchen. She saw Lasercorn leaning against the wall next to the door. He was smirking down at something on his phone. He glanced up when Mari reached him, but made no comment. They didn’t need to fill the empty air with small talk. Not they ever felt pressured to keep talking to any of the others, but a few of the younger members felt restless sometimes and tried to talk away their tension. 

The sound of more footsteps made both her and Lasercorn look up. Ian was walking towards them with Noah following them. He looked a little nervous, but Mari could also see he was intent on whatever it was they were going to do.

“So,” Lasercorn started. “What are we doing?”

“Just scouting,” Ian said as he reached them. “Joven and Olivia didn’t notice any agents lurking around when they went shopping for Damien.”

“Not one?” Lasercorn asked, eyes wide.

“Olivia said there weren’t even any cars,” Noah said.

“Right,” Ian agreed. “That’s why I want you three to check it. It doesn’t make sense for them to just disappear.”

The three of them nodded, but Mari could see that Noah had a question. He didn’t say anything though as Ian continued seriously.

“I want you all to be careful,” he looked them all in the eyes. “No fighting, no tracking, no detective work. If you see something suspicious, then watch it, but don’t go into buildings or follow them into the streets.”

They nodded again and Lasercorn opened the front door. Noah left and Mari could hear the garage door squeal open. 

“Keep an eye on him,” Ian murmured. 

“Of course.”

Mari left with one last look at Ian. She gave him a reassuring smile and closed the door. 

Lasercorn was in the driver's seat of the dark grey Honda Accord, peering through the window at her. A smirk fell onto his face and he honked the horn. Mari rolled her eyes, but she smiled anyway. Noah was sitting behind the driver’s seat and excitement was bright on his face. 

Mari remembered her first mission; she had been sent to tag an alleyway by a police station with Anthony. SMOSH had just formed — just Ian, Anthony, Joe, and Mari — and it had been a sort of rebel group. They used to do stuff like tagging places of authority and road signs or taking bats to the cars of known Shadow Agents. She remembered being excited to be breaking the law; Mari didn’t do anything like that. The adrenaline of it made her more than willing to go out on every mission after that. But they wouldn’t be doing anything against the law. This was actually going to be pretty boring — it’s not even a real mission — but she didn’t want to ruin it for Noah. 

Mari pulled open the car door and sat down, a blast of cold air greeting her. As soon as Lasercorn heard the click of her seatbelt, he tore down the driveway. It was only a five minute drive to the heart of Jonestown, but the drive was quite scenic. There was a farmer that had plums, strawberries, and grapes. They tried to support the farmer; going up to their stand and getting a bag of each. 

The forest that surrounded SMOSH’s property covered most of the land between their home and the town. It only stops when it meets an old car lot. The rest of the town was a little cleaner. The grocery store was a decent size considering the number of people living nearby. There was a hair salon, a library, an ice cream parlor, a cafe, a small motel, and even an old fashioned movie theater. Overall, it was a cute and cozy town.

The people were nice enough. They were usually soft-spoken and left the group alone. They knew Mari well enough, but she would see them send odd glances towards their group whenever they walked around. Mari understood. It must be strange to have newcomers appear in the middle of the night. Although, it wasn’t a completely new idea; Jonestown was a town that plenty of people drove through on their way to their vacation spot. 

The car pulled into the parking lot in front of the gas station. Mari watched a few kids run into the ice cream parlor excitedly across the street. A couple was sitting at a picnic table a few yards away, but they didn’t have the usual aura that a Shadow Agent had. Despite how hard it was to actually spot an agent, it wasn’t impossible. They often tried too hard to fit in. They wore too many neutral colors or had their hair styled with too much gel. 

“I have a question,” Noah piped up from the back seat. 

Mari turned around to face him while Lasercorn kept his eyes on the road. 

“What’s up?”

“Ian said that it’s weird that all of the agents are gone,” Noah said. His eyes kept flickering to the windows then back to Mari’s face. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Agents don’t just disappear in one night,” Lasercorn informed. “They like to keep tabs on a town before they desert it.”

“What Laser means,” Mari began, “is that they always leave a few behind. They’ve been too interested in this town for too long for them to just leave. There should still be a few, but Jovie and Olivia were right. There were fifty here last week and now,” Mari looked out into the street again, “I don’t see any.”

It was quiet in the car for a minute. Lasercorn, with his arms crossed and eyes darting to every alleyway, spoke so softly that Mari almost missed it.

“Do you think it’s because of Damien?”

Mari glanced over at him before her eyes returned to the people leaving one of the small shops across from them. 

“What do you mean?”

“You two escaped from a high security prison,” Lasercorn explained. “You were a slight inconvenience, but they probably don’t care as much. But Damien…” he trailed off.

“Damien would be a big deal,” Noah supplied. “If he was there for fourteen years.”

Mari didn’t reply at first. She sighed and shrugged.

“Maybe,” she said. “But every agent? Especially when they thought they were about to corner Ian?”

Her friend shrugged. 

“I’m just trying to explain it,” he said. “I mean there isn’t an agent here.”

They waited three hours before they finally went home. They moved from the gas station to the movie theatre on the small hill, and from there to the park. However they didn’t spot anyone. There was no sign of an agent or even a company car. It was like they had never existed. They walked into the house hungry and confused. Noah had dozed off at some point, but Mari didn’t blame him. The mission was a complete waste of time despite the strange circumstances. 

⤔

**Joven**

It was another late night. Joven was working in his room even though he desperately wanted to sleep. He had cursed Ian when he had woken him up at two in the morning three nights in a row. But Joven had to admit that he was kind of proud of his work.

He could give Ian an entire diagram of the Shadow Agency’s activity in the past month. He had a book full of sightings, observed gatherings, possible schedules, armored truck sightings and other information that made his head spin. Or, maybe the spinning was from the lack of sleep. Either way, Joven had been doing a lot of digging into the Agency and their employees. 

Joven could even tell a person how an agent conducted surveillance or how they walked into their hideout. He could even list how they finish their observations. What was routine and what wasn’t? That was the question that Joven had been working so hard to enter. 

The days were starting to blur together though.He knew that coming to SMOSH would include work. It was one of the reasons he enjoyed it; the work meant something. But if Ian had told Joven ten years ago how much work he would be doing, then he probably would’ve reconsidered. Not that this wasn’t rewarding, but he missed relaxing. He hadn’t really seen any of his friends and he missed sitting down and playing games. 

He must have looked even worse than he felt. Joe had taken one look at him and told Ian that he was working him too hard. Joven had appreciated the thought, but he knew what he was doing was important. Although, Joven had to admit that it was catching up with him. Maybe in a few days he would tell Ian that he needed a spa day.

A violent buzz pulled Joven from his sleep-deprived thoughts. He fished his phone out of his pocket with a frown. He saw the text notification from Ian and opened it. He almost whined in irritation.

**_Full Moon. 1 am._ **

Joven looked at the clock — 10:30. Great. Joven could take a little nap before he went to go wait in a bar. If there was one thing that he didn’t want to do tonight, it was get in an accident.


	14. Even Monsters Have Their Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Especially when they're not monsters...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible TW: You will see the beginnings of a panic attack, but not from the perspective of the person that is having it

**Shayne**

The start of June was warm and full of sun. Of course, since they lived in California, that meant it was a hundred degrees and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Shayne didn’t mind much. He was inside most of the time anyway, reading. And if he wanted to go outside he could go into the shady forest or by the pool. 

Shayne was heading down for breakfast when he noticed Damien standing by the front door, his arms twitching. Concern filled him as he stepped closer; Damien’s hands were clasped so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. 

“Damien?” Shayne said, stepping next to him. He had to keep himself from touching his friend’s shoulder.

Damien blinked and glanced over at him. He inhaled and turned to face Shayne.

“Yes?”

“You okay?” Shayne frowned. 

Damien didn’t say anything for a second. His brown eyes flickered to meet his own, but they fell to the floor just as quickly as he had lifted them. 

“I’m fine,” Damien said. 

But Shayne knew he was lying. The other man was fidgeting, which wasn’t uncommon, but he had a frustration on his face that Shayne hadn’t seen before. His hair was messier than it had been in a while and it looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before. 

“Was it a nightmare?” Shayne asked. He knew Damien suffered from them most nights. Though Damien said they were often terrible, the man was usually able to hide his anxiety away from the others. 

“No,” Damien glanced at him, defeated. “Well, yes, there was one, but that’s not why I’m agitated.”

Shayne waited for him to continue, but he remained quiet. He sighed under his breath.

“What’s up?”

Damien swallowed.

“I feel like I did when I was twelve,” he explained. “It feels like there’s bugs crawling all over me.”

Confusion welled up inside of Shayne. That was a common side-effect of being an Anomaly. Shayne himself went through approximately seven years of feeling uncomfortable because he had no way to learn how to control his powers. Many members of SMOSH described different things they went through while they were growing into their abilities. Keith told him once about how he used to feel like he was covered in slime for weeks at a time, and Olivia used to think that invisible birds were attacking her. But those uncomfortable effects usually faded once the Anomaly was between the age of seventeen to twenty. For Damien to still be going through them was curious.

“But you were taught to control your power, weren’t you?” Shayne said. “Why are —”

“I don’t know,” Damien interrupted. His tone was sharp or annoyed, it was thoughtful. “I was never really taught to control it.”

“What?” Shayne was thoroughly confused now. “What do you mean?”

Damien smiled slightly, but it was a little pained.

“I learned how to use my powers,” he murmured. “Strengthened them.”

“I’m still lost,” Shayne commented when Damien looked at him.

“I learned to control what I could as the power developed and grew. Does that make sense?” Damien said. Shayne shrugged and Damien huffed in mild amusement. “I don’t quite know how to describe it…. Brevil didn’t care if I reigned it in or not. He and Forrestor only cared about how much power I could display. I never actively worked on restricting my powers. I had to push past my limits every day — I didn’t have time to practice self-control. I know when and when not to use it. If I let my emotions take over, I don’t know what would happen.” 

As he spoke, Damien’s tone turned dark. 

“That doesn’t make you dangerous,” Shayne reassured. Damien ignored him.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone, Shayne.”

Shayne stepped closer and lowered his voice as he heard footsteps coming from the stairs. He saw the fear dawning in Damien’s eyes. Joe passed them, sending Shayne a smile. He frowned when he saw Damien, but Shayne waved him away. When the older man was gone, he returned his focus to his friend.

“You won’t,” Shayne murmured. “Hey, look at me.” It took a moment, but Damien looked over at him. “You won’t hurt any of us. You’re a good person and nothing can change that.”

“I’m scared,” Damien whispered. “I haven’t felt like this in years and now it’s back.”

“You aren’t a normal Anomaly,” Shayne said. “We can work on this. Do you want to do that? We can practice in the basement.”

“Today?” Damien asked.

“Yes,” Shayne answered. “If that’s what you want to do.”

Damien went quiet and took a deep breath. Shayne knew he wasn’t going to say anything else and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. 

“Lets go get breakfast,” Shayne said. 

Damien nodded and followed Shayne to the kitchen. Shayne made his breakfast without thinking about it as he let his mind wander. 

It was strange, what Damien told him. The idea that someone could be imprisoned for fourteen years and have little control over their powers both made sense and yet made no sense at all. Shayne would’ve thought that the fear produced while living in that environment would make someone learn how to control their powers. 

Shayne could control the size of the barriers he makes and how strong they are. His abilities didn’t take over when he was scared or angry. But Shayne’s power was defensive. He couldn’t really attack someone unless he felt really creative. Damien was a telekinetic as far as he understood; his abilities were more offensive, however they could be quite versatile. Maybe controlling a power was harder if the Anomaly in question had a more defensive or offensive ability. Shayne would have to talk to Joe about it. 

He sighed as he finished spreading peanut butter on his bagel. He brought it over to the table and sat down next to Damien. They fell into a conversation about nothing in particular. That was one of the many things Shayne liked about his ever-growing friendship with Damien. He could talk to him about anything and Damien would listen. Damien, in turn, trusted him enough to share things about himself that he hadn’t said to any of the others. Shayne knew about his nightmares, his cellmates, and so many other things. There were probably things that Damien was unaware that Shayne knew about. Mumbled words or memories. 

Damien had been there for almost a month and he was adjusting well. He still fidgeted and jumped when someone sneaked up on him. But things were getting better. He would notice sometimes that Damien would close his eyes when he was especially anxious, but he no longer did it. His smiles weren’t forced and he had even cracked a few jokes every once in a while. It was a lot of progress in such a short amount of time and it warmed Shayne’s heart. 

The two of them sat in silence for a while as they finished their food. Sunlight fell across the tiled floor in long strips. There was a quiet chatter of their friends filled the kitchen and melted into the living room. Shayne distantly heard someone turn to t.v. on. He kind of hoped that Olivia wouldn’t turn on the news; he really didn’t want to hear about another kid being murdered. They had already been happening for a few months and, while sad, Shayne was growing tired of hearing about them endlessly. 

Shayne’s hopes were thrown out the window when Lasercorn ran into the room, eyes wide. 

“Everyone in the living room, now!” he called before running back to the t.v.

Shayne glanced at Damien worriedly as they, too, got up. They made their way to the group standing behind the couch. Damien was able to worm his way towards the front, Shayne following. Shayne’s heart stopped when he saw the screen.

It was a picture of Damien. His hair was longer than it was when he arrived at SMOSH and he had dark circles under his eyes. He was still quite thin, but not as thin as he was now. The picture of Damien looked sickly. 

The reporter on screen was continuing her statement.

“— has escaped from Saint Mary's Health Center, located outside of Ferndale, California.On May 3rd, it is said that Haas attacked a team of security personnel and was able to leave through a back door. The center has stated that he was injured when he escaped.

“Jeremy Brevil, one of the coordinators of the center, stated that “Mr. Haas is a very hazardous individual. A year ago he killed a fellow patient in a fight and then denied the possibility of his involvement. He is not afraid of using violence”. 

“If you see Haas, do not approach. He is considered unstable and very dangerous. If you have any information, please call this number.”

A number flashed on the screen under the picture of Damien.

“That’s the Shadow Number,” Joven muttered. 

Shayne glanced at Damien to see he was staring at his image. His eyes were wide and his hands were curled into fists. Shayne placed a hand on his shoulder and he winced.

“Once again, for those who are just joining us, Damien Haas —”

The screen went black and silence filled the room. Ian dropped the remote onto the couch with a heavy sigh. The older man looked over at Damien with a gleam in his eyes. He regarded Damien for a moment with the same look he had when he had Mari, Courtney, and Keith go to the facility. It was an odd mixture of hope, desperation, and hunger.

“What is it that you can do, Damien?” Ian asked finally.

Shayne felt Damien flinch beneath his hand. He didn’t dare say anything, feeling as if he had walked into a wild animal’s domain. 

“Damien,” Ian said again. 

Damien took a deep breath, but it didn’t relieve any of the tension in his body. 

“Telekinesis,” Damien murmured. “But it’s more than that.”

“Damien, you don’t have to,” Shayne interjected.

“I can move things, but I can tear things apart or shatter them. If there’s a crack in something I’ll know it’s there.”

“Give me an example,” Ian said.

Damien paused briefly, but powered through whatever was rising up inside of him. He straightened and his hands moved behind his back. Shayne could see his nails digging into his palms.

“I could rip a tree out of the ground by pushing the soil away from it — the roots would remain intact — and then replant it. I can crack and shatter a slab of concrete if it has a hole in it. I can keep a hundred cannonballs in the air after they’re fired all at once.”

“Damien,” Joe stepped in. “That’s enough.”

But he kept going.

“I’ve held back moving walls and turned off a machine that was in another room.”

“Damien,” Shayne whispered.

“I can feel it,” Damien rushed on. “The energy of everything. I can see it too… in my mind. I can see the layout of the entire house if I close my eyes and focus hard enough.”

Shayne put his other hand on Damien’s arm. He finally stopped talking, but he was shaking. Shayne looked over at Ian, but he didn’t seem to notice the state of the newest member. 

“And you killed someone?” Ian said.

“She was killing me,” Damien supplied hastily. “I didn’t want to fight her. Brevil wouldn’t let me just let her win!”

Everyone gasped, but there was no fear behind it. Shayne just felt sad. Shayne stepped forward so that he was in Damien’s eyesight. His friend didn’t move a muscle, his wide eyes trained on Ian.

“Show me,” Ian said abruptly. Shayne’s eyes snapped up to him in disbelief. 

“Ian,” Mari warned from behind Shayne. “Don’t.”

“Show me what you can do,” Ian said, ignoring her.

Damien shuddered beneath Shayne’s grip. He looked over and saw Damien’s chest quivering and he could hear his short, wheezing breaths. His eyes were glassy and a little unfocused. 

“Damien,” Shayne said, rubbing his shoulder gently.

He didn’t get a response. There was no warning before Damien bolted out of the room. He was heading towards the front door. Shayne didn’t hesitate to run after him, Ian in front of him. They followed him to the front door.

“Damien!” Ian shouted. 

Damien froze with his hand on the door handle. Everyone else caught up and stood in the entryway to the kitchen. Shayne was in the front of the group, his eyes shifting from Ian to Damien. A moment crawled by and Damien finally turned. His eyes were wild and Shayne could see his chest heaving from where he waited.

“I need to understand,” Ian said, calmer than before. “I need to understand what I have to work with.”

Shayne couldn’t believe what he was hearing. What Ian had to work with? SMOSH didn’t  _ work with _ anything. 

“Stop, Ian,” Joeven stepped forward. Damien’s eyes flickered to him, but Joven didn’t get any closer and they went back to Ian. 

“Brevil was shouting in my ear that I would die if I didn’t do anything,” Damien choked out. “That it was all up to me. I almost didn’t walk out of that room! I was scared, I was disoriented, I was dying! She was suffocating me! I was drowning and they wouldn’t pull her off. They made the match continue. She just kept going. I meant to just push her away, but— I didn’t mean to.”

It hurt Shayne to see his friend in so much distress. He took a step closer, but Damien held up his hand slightly and he forced himself to remain where he was. 

“Look, I don’t care that you killed someone,” Ian said, his hands in the air. “I need to see it, Damien. I need to understand it!”

“No you don’t! No one needs to understand!” Damien’s voice was barely more than a whine. His rapid breathing punctuating the words.

“It might help other Anomalies,” Ian cried, frustration in his face. 

Shayne couldn’t take it anymore. He walked forward so that he was almost in between the two of them.

“That’s enough!” he bellowed. He saw Damien’s flinch and felt bad, but nothing else was getting Ian’s attention.

“Show me!” Ian shouted.

There was a rattling sound from above them. Shayne looked up along with everyone. The massive chandelier was trembling. Shayne was tugged back and fell onto the ground as the decoration heaved. He saw Joe kneeling above him, but his eyes were drawn away from the man.

The chandelier was suddenly ripped away from the ceiling, but it didn’t fall to the ground. Every crystal, big and small, detached itself from the silver frame and rocketed away. Everyone ducked and covered their heads. Shayne put an arm over his eyes. There was the sound of shattering glass and clangs of several heavy objects falling to the floor. 

It was quiet save for everyone’s terrified breathing. Shayne heard someone run up the stairs and he removed his arm just in time to catch Damien disappearing. 


	15. Fury of an Uncle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Panic Attack, but not in the POV of the person having it.

**Joe**

As Damien disappeared from view, the chandelier fell to the floor with a crash. The frame shattered and the pieces slid across the floor. Murmurs broke out among them as they all stood up. Joe stood up and faced everyone. Anger pulsed through his veins.

“Everyone in the meeting room and stay there. Now!” Out of the corner of his eye, Joe saw Ian step on the stairs. “That includes you, Ian!”

Ian glared at him, but he followed the order. Joe had to reign in the anger that threatened to lash out. He would be talking to Ian, but he had to check in on Damien first. He ran up the stairs and made his way to the third floor. He went up to Damien’s door and knocked on it three times. He used the waiting time to push down the frustration that was rising up within him. 

Joe knocked again, but he was greeted with silence. Worried, Joe put his ear to the door and listened. He heard something, but it was muffled. 

“Damien,” Joe called. “You okay?”

It was a stupid question, of course Damien wasn’t okay. However, Joe couldn’t just stomp into his room because it may make Damien feel attacked. He knocked again.

“Damien, can I come in?”

A small whine cut through the muffled sounds. It was enough for Joe.

“I’m coming in.”

The door wasn’t locked and he was able to open it. Joe stepped inside and looked around. The bathroom light was on and he could gasps coming through the doorway. Joe hurried to the bathroom and saw Damien sitting on the floor, leaning against the cabinets. The sight broke Joe’s heart.

The younger man had one hand on his chest and held his head with the other. He was gasping for air and he had tears streaming down his cheeks. His nails were digging into his scalp and the fabric of his shirt. He was trembling and sobs were forcing themselves between his teeth. 

Joe kneeled beside him and lifted a hand. 

“I’m going to touch you, okay?”

He hesitated briefly, but then laid a hand on his shoulder. Damien shuddered and tried to jerk away. He was about to fall to his side, but Joe was quick and put another hand on the other shoulder, catching him. 

“It’s okay,” Joe whispered. “It’s okay, you’re safe. You didn’t hurt anyone.”

Joe murmured these words for over twenty minutes before Damien could say something. He wasn’t calm — still in the middle of the panic attack — but words managed to whine past his lips.

“They won’t stop. I can still see her! I hear him! They won’t go away!”

Joe’s hands tightened on his shoulders, his breath catching in his throat. He cleared it in an attempt to speak. He took Damien’s hand away from his chest and placed it on the cold floor.

“Can you feel the tile? How smooth it is?”

Damien’s head jerked, but Joe couldn’t tell if he was answering him or if he was shivering. Instead of pressing him for an answer, he pulled Damien’s hand to his own chest and took an over exaggerated breath.

“Can you feel my heart beating? Can you feel my chest moving?” Damien closed his eyes tightly. “No, I don’t want you to feel the energy. Feel it with your hand, not your mind.”

Damien relaxed slightly. It took a while, but Damien’s breathing evened out and he was no longer crying. Joe’s voice was starting to weaken after talking endlessly for forty-five minutes, but he never stopped.

“I promise you’re safe here. You don’t have to worry about getting caught or about hurting any of us. There’s nothing you need to worry about.” 

After another few minutes, Damien leaned his head on the cabinet with a sigh. He looked exhausted and he wouldn’t meet Joe’s eye. Joe let go of his shoulders and leaned against the opposite wall, facing Damien. 

“I’m sorry,” Damien rasped tiredly.

Joe regarded him for a moment. He took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. 

“I first met Ian in a bar,” Joe began. “He was drinking a beer and I didn’t think anything of him. He was about two in, when, all of a sudden, he gets up and walks out with his drink. He didn’t even pay yet. It didn’t look like he was coming back, so I paid for his drinks and followed him out. I found him at the pier, looking out over the water. 

“When I get there, he pours the rest of his drink into the ocean and hits the bottle on the railing. I was worried, so I stayed. He told me he had a fight with his friend about what they were going to do with the rest of their life. He was waving this broken bottle around like some sort of magic wand. I told him that he should be careful and that it would be a big mess to clean up if he cut himself.

“He didn’t listen and he ended up cutting his hand. I didn’t know he read minds yet — I was wondering if I should try and heal him, when he stuck his hand out for me to do it.”

Joe paused and glanced down at Damien. He was staring at Joe with fear in his eyes. 

“When I met Ian,” he continued, “he was a kid — just turned twenty-two. He was angry, but he didn’t stay that way. What he did today was awful, but he isn’t really like that. I don’t want you to think that he’s a horrible person.”

“I understand,” Damien mumbled. “He just wanted to know and I —”

“Reacted like a normal person,” Joe interrupted. He knew what Damien was thinking. “What you did was milder than I would expect from Lasercorn or Mari. Ian pushed you too far and that was wrong. You should be upset. And I’m going to speak with him about it.”

“I don’t want to hurt any of you,” Damien spoke up in a quiet voice. 

“You won’t,” Joe reassured. “If you were, it would have already happened. You’re doing so well, Damien. Don’t let today make you doubt yourself.”

Damien remained silent, but Joe could see him thinking. His eye lids suddenly drooped and Joe stood up slowly. He extended a hand to the man on the floor. Damien eyed it briefly before taking it. Joe steadied him when he wobbled on his feet. They made their way to the bed and Damien sat down. Joe could see the anxious look on his face.

“What?” he asked gently.

Damien glanced at him, then down at the floor.

“Don’t get mad at them,” he whispered.

Joe’s thoughts paused and he frowned. What was it that Brevil used to do to the research participants at Orion? He searched through his memories before the answer sent a jolt of sadness through him. Joe remembered watching Anomalies be walked to Forrestor’s office whenever Brevil was in a bad mood. If Brevil was mad, they got hurt.

Joe sighed and shook his head.

“I’m upset with Ian,” he murmured. “ I’m only going to talk with him. I’m not going to do anything to the rest of them.”

Damien nodded, although there was fear still present in his eyes. Joe shook his head and went to the door. He paused, looking back.

“Come get me if you need me, Damien,” he said. “My door is always open.”

Joe left and gently closed the door. He hurried down the stairs and the anger was bubbling up again. He growled to himself as he finally reached the ground floor. He saw the broken chandelier on the floor, glinting in the sunlight. Joe marched into the meeting room with a scowl on his face. He looked at everyone sitting around the table, noticing Ian wasn’t there. Shayne looked just as angry as Joe felt, his eyes alight. He didn’t say anything as he reigned in his frustration.

“Is Damien okay?” Olivia asked quietly. Joe looked at and rubbed a hand over his face.

“I don’t know, Liv,” he answered. “I hope he’ll stay in his room the rest of the day. I’m guessing he’ll have nightmares... if he’s even able to sleep.”

At this, everyone looked down at their hands. Joe sighed and leaned against the wall.

“It’s not your fault. Ian shouldn’t have pushed him. Either way, I don’t think Damien is going to hold it against you.”

They were all quiet and Joe could see the gears working in their heads. Courtney leaned forward, arms folded across her chest.

“Did he really kill someone?”

Her voice was meek, but she didn’t look afraid. She looked sad. Joe didn’t get to answer as Mari faced the blonde. 

“You didn’t see it in there. The scientists are cruel.”

“The system isn’t kind,” Joe agreed. He grimaced as he remembered his time in Orion. “Split lips, black eyes, broken bones; those were normal when I first got there. Within months, it escalated to strangulation, burning, electrocution, and whatever else and Anomaly could do in a challenge.”

Noah looked up at him suddenly. There was a pensiveness that Joe had never seen in the young man. 

“Did you see him?” Noah asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “When you worked there?”

Joven glanced at Noah disapprovingly, but Joe nodded. It was something they may need to understand now. Joe didn’t like talking about his time working for the agency. He was young and thought that he could help the Anomalies there if he worked on the inside. He wanted to make a difference and that seemed like the best option at the time. 

“I had been working there for a year when Damien came in,” Joe sighed. “I was never allowed to treat him or anything, so I could never talk to him. I wish I could’ve — I should’ve — found a way; he was just a kid. But I worked with the lower tier Anomalies, and Damien was on the highest tier anyone could be on. He was only ever treated by Dr. Brevil or Dr. Forrestor. I saw him fight four different challenges though,” Joe shivered as he remembered the way the prisoners were forced to fight each other. “They were brutal. Damien wasn’t lying when he said he let the others win. Three of the four fights I saw, Damien was up against kids. He could have won, but he willingly got beat up so he wouldn’t hurt them.

“I heard about one inmate killing another, but I didn’t realize it was Damien. I left a few months later, so I never found out who it was. I trust him though. If Damien says that he had to, then he really did have to.”

It was quiet again. 

“But this doesn’t change anything, right?” Keith asked. “He’s still going to live with us?” 

“Do you want him to stay?” Joe said, but he already knew the answer.

“There’s nowhere else for him to go,” Shayne exclaimed. “We can’t just throw him back to the Agency.”

Everyone else muttered their agreements. Joe smiled and shrugged.

“Then there’s no reason he can’t stay,” Joe said. “But you have to show him you want him to stay.”

They all began to talk with one another, but there was a somber tone in the air. Their smiles were sad and their eyes were bright with shame. Joe sighed and pulled himself away from the wall. He looked at Joven, serious.

“Where’s Ian?” Joven rolled his eyes and pointed to the ceiling.

“In his office,” Joven said, crossing his arms. “Be careful. He’s grouchy.”

“Yeah,” Joe snorted. “So am I.”

He left the group in the room and made his way up the stairs. The sun that warmed the house made it clear that it was the early afternoon, but it felt like it should have been closer to midnight.

What was Ian thinking? He knew Damien was troubled given his still very recent past. Ian had never been so insensitive before. He understood how bad the new kid had it before he came here, and yet he goes on about needing to see Damien’s power? The thoughts made Joe growl again as he reached Ian’s office. He didn’t even knock before he entered the room. The other man was sitting in his chair with his head in his hands, staring at the wall. 

“I hope you’re happy,” Joe scowled as he shut the door. 

Ian blinked a few times and lifted his head. “What?”

Joe huffed and stood across from him. He glared at Ian and poured all of his anger into his words.

“What the hell were you thinking? My God, Ian. He was stuck in Orion for fourteen fucking years and when he is finally free, you turn around and act like one of those scientists! What were you thinking?”

Ian blinked dumbly. He shook his head and sighed. It was quiet as Joe continued to glare at his friend.

“I don’t know,” Ian said finally.

Joe blanched at the sentence. Then, he threw his head back and laughed humorlessly.

“You — You don’t know!” Joe cried in disbelief. 

“I remembered what Anthony used to say,” he said. “About having certain Anomalies helping us break out people from the facilities. Damien could be powerful enough to do that.”

Joe leaned on the desk and looked into Ian’s eyes.

“It doesn’t matter how powerful Damien is! He’s not some weapon — he’s a man. A man who was imprisoned by the government for half of his life!”

“Joe, you haven’t heard any of my ideas! With Damien’s help we could —”

Joe slammed his hands on the desk.

“Nothing! We don’t do anything!”

Ian ignored him and stood up.

“We could free everyone!”

Joe was shocked into silence. He analyzed Ian for the first time since entering the office. Ian’s hair was wild, as if he had kept running his hands through it. He was pale and his eyes darted to every corner as if an enemy was waiting there. Joe straightened and folded his arms.

“Ian, we’ve been over this. This isn’t how we will win.”

Ian’s eyes snapped to him and he took a step closer.

“What’s that mean?” he asked gruffly.

“We can’t use brute force against these people. We have to take it steady, and we can’t use our _family_ to fight against them!”

Ian scoffed.

“They would be willing to — they would want to. Remember Mari? Lasercorn? They went out and —”

“They were young,” Joe interjected. “They were young and angry, just like you were. This isn’t you, Ian.”

“Really?” Ian sneered. “Isn’t it?”

“This is the old you,” Joe said. 

“Maybe that’s not a bad thing.”

“No,” Joe yelled. “That is a bad thing! You hated that part of you. You swore to never be like that again because you knew it was destructive.”

“How do you know that’s not what we need, Joe?” Ian yelled back. “How can you be so sure that being the old me won’t fix everything!”

“Because it killed Anthony,” Joe’s voice cracked. “Because he stayed hell-bent on revenge and he’s dead! You’re alive, Ian. You can’t save people when you’re dead.”

Ian suddenly looked lost and his shoulders were drawn closer to himself. 

“I’m tired of pretending like I’m ok with holding up this little safe house,” he murmured.

Joe shook his head.

“You want to send them all to the streets?”

“Of course not! But I want this all to be over! I want to be able to see my mom without worrying about Agents tailing me. I want to free all of those people from those prisons! I want to live my life, Joe! I’ve been miserable since I was twelve! Why is that fair? Why do we have to pay for other people’s insecurities?”

“It isn’t fair,” Joe said. He walked closer and stood in front of Ian. “Believe me, it isn’t. We _shouldn’t_ have to fear for our lives because other people want to feel entitled or don’t want things to change. I want to make a difference too.”

“Do you though?”

“Yes! But our family is not the way to do that. You can’t decide to just use a person to your advantage. No matter how many people that advantage may benefit.” Joe placed a hand on Ian’s shoulder. “And I’m sure everyone wants that, but we can’t jump into this without any preparation. We can’t force our family to give up their lives for it. Damien would want to help, I really think he would, but he _can’t_ right now. As much as he acts like he’s calm and unfazed, Damien is far from okay. He’s scared that he’ll be found and taken away.”

Ian hung his head.

“And now he’s worried he’ll hurt us,” Ian sighed. “And he thinks I’m going to treat him like those awful scientists.” He wiped his face. “I really fucked up.”

“No,” Joe said. “Well, yes you did, but it was a mistake. Give the rest of the day to blow over. Something tells me he won’t hold it against you.”

The statement didn’t make Ian feel any better and Joe didn’t really mean it to. Ian sighed and rubbed his face. Suddenly, his head cocked to the side.

“Shayne’s outside,” he muttered. “He wants to talk to you about Damien.”

Joe gave Ian a look, but didn’t comment. He knew Ian tried to keep out of their thoughts, so it could be that Shayne’s thoughts were too loud for Ian to ignore. Joe went to the door and opened it. Shayne looked anxious as he played with the cuff of his jacket sleeve.

“Yeah?” Joe said, opening the door wider.

Shayne glanced over his shoulder and glared momentarily at Ian. 

“I need to talk to you about Damien,” Shayne whispered. “It’s about a conversation we had this morning.”


	16. On the Loose

**Olivia**

The next couple of days crawled by. Ian was usually holed up in his office, not that any of them were complaining. They were all a little surly with their leader after what happened, Olivia included. She knew their anger would fade, especially once Ian apologized, but that didn’t excuse what he did. Olivia had never seen him act so carelessly with any of them in her five years with SMOSH. If he had done it to anyone else it would have been easier to deal with, but Ian treated  _ Damien _ like some dancing monkey. Their newest member that had escaped a federal research facility — a prison — barely a month ago.

Damien, as Joe had warned them, was pretty shaken up. They were back to square one, if not worse than that. He was walking on eggshells whenever he was in the same room as one of them. He didn’t crack jokes, or say much at all if he could avoid it. His hands were always shaking whenever he talked to Olivia. She was certain it wasn’t just when he talked to her. 

Everyone was just as careful with him as they were before. A stranger would think it was always Damien’s birthday with how they treated him. Wes was always offering to make Damien pancakes or anything else he wanted to have for breakfast. Shayne was always sitting near him if not directly next to him; they were always talking in hushed whispers, their heads bent. Courtney made him little post-it note story books with happy endings. Noah was “learning to juggle” using his powers; he would just so happen to sit in Damien’s line of sight when he messed up comically. Mari sat with him, doing puzzles whenever he felt like it. Keith would ask him what he thought of his outfit. Olivia would always ask what he wanted to watch in the morning instead of immediately flipping to the news.

That’s what she was doing now. Olivia and Damien sat on the couch with blankets thrown over them. She held the remote in her hand, offering it to the man. 

“Is there anything you’d like to watch?” Olivia asked.

Damien shook his head.

“Are you sure?”

Damien nodded.

Olivia held in a sigh and looked back at the television. She slowly made her way through the different channels, giving Damien enough time if he wanted to stop her. With a final press of the button, they reached the news channel. There were two pictures on the screen; one was a young man with brown hair and eyes, the other picture was of a woman with long brown hair. They were both smiling. The reporter didn’t look as concerned as Olivia thought she should have.

“Tommy Bowe and Sarah Whittle have been reported missing from the Los Angeles area. They have been missing for almost six weeks, but some people believe they have spotted them a few times during that period. The two adults are friends and are said to have disappeared at the same time. The last sighting reported to the police placed them outside of Roseville. 

“‘The disappearances are unlikely to be the work of the Shadow Killer’, police say. They are well outside of the age range that the killer has been targeting. Please keep an eye out for Tommy Bowe and Sarah Whittle and help bring them home. 

“We would also like to remind the residents of California to watch for Damien Haas, a —”

Olivia immediately switched to a different channel when she heard Damien’s name. Suddenly, a cooking show was on the screen. Olivia set the remote down, but didn’t really pay attention.

Why would they be reporting a missing-persons case six weeks after it had been reported? Surely, they would have told the public about it earlier if they had heard about it. Unless the media didn’t know about them before. But why wouldn’t they know about the case? Who would be keeping it out of the press? Maybe the two of them were fleeing Anomalies. If they were part of a secret organization then they wouldn’t want their names in the news. 

“Olivia?” Damien called quietly.

Olivia blinked a few times as she cleared her head. Once all of the questions were done bouncing around in her brain, she looked at Damien. She pointed the remote at the television and turned down the volume.

“Yeah?”

“The Shadow Killer?” Damien inquired. 

“It’s a serial killer in California,” she explained. “They’ve been active since December. They target kids though, so we don’t have to worry. Still sad,” Olivia frowned. “I wish I could do something about it, but…”

Damien was no longer hiding under the blanket and, instead, looking intently at Olivia’s nose. It was the closest he had gotten to looking into someone’s eyes since he had gotten there.

“Are there any leads?”

Olivia rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“The police don’t know anything other than the kids are killed on the tenth and seventeenth of every month. Their number one suspect is some kid who just graduated from college. He was a friend of the first victim’s family. But I think they suspect him because he’s black, not because they have any evidence against him. I don’t think he actually did it considering he’s been watched this entire time and the murders are still happening.”

Damien hummed, his nose wrinkled. 

“Do you watch every report that comes out?”

“It’s good to be informed at the very least,” Olivia shrugged. “And I want to know if they get close to Jonestown — we have kids here. If something were to happen, I would at least know what was going on.”

Damien didn’t say anything else and removed his gaze from Olivia. He watched the screen, so Olivia turned the volume back up, although Damien didn’t look like he was paying much attention either. They spent the next hour or so watching a man making different versions of meat pies. Olivia thought it was quite relaxing; sitting on the couch, under a blanket with the sunlight washing over them. It was also nice to see Damien relaxing too. His shoulders weren’t next to his ears and he was no longer clutching the blanket in his hands. 

They only stopped when Courtney asked Olivia if she wanted to go down to sit by the pool with her. She asked Damien if he wanted to join them, but he declined. Damien said he would continue to watch the show, so Olivia left him with the blanket and remote. She ran upstairs and changed at lightning speed. She grabbed a towel and went back down to the first floor. Courtney was waiting for her by the back doors, smiling. 

“Are you gonna swim?” Olivia asked. 

“Maybe,” Courtney shrugged. 

Olivia pulled her sunglasses over her eyes as they walked down the path to the pool. Keith, Noah, and Shayne were hanging out by the pool too. It was a beautiful day. The sky was full of fluffy clouds with the bright blue peaking through. The sun was harsh, but it wasn’t as hot as it was a couple days ago. The girls reached the pool, the other three greeting them happily. 

“How’s Damien?” Noah asked. 

“He was better this morning,” Olivia replied.

“He seemed relaxed,” Courtney added.

“What were you two watching?” Keith said, pushing a giant flamingo floatie into the pool.

“Cooking with Simon,” Olivia shrugged. 

Keith looked like he was going to reply, but he didn’t get the chance to. Noah sneaked up behind him and pushed Keith in. Keith shouted before splashing into the water. Everyone laughed as Keith’s head popped up above the surface. 

“Dude!” Keith whined dramatically, pulling himself out of the pool. 

Noah laughed, but he was cut short as Shayne grabbed him from behind.

“Take his glasses!” Shayne said. “Take them!”

Courtney went over and took Noah’s glasses off of his face. Shayne then picked him up and threw him into the pool. Keith cackled as Noah shot out of the pool, sputtering. Keith pointed at Noah, still laughing, and the younger man pushed his hand away. Noah, however the action might seem, was actually smiling. He ran towards Keith, who took off towards the orchard. They ran around for a while, but eventually came back over to the pool. 

Olivia sat on the side of the pool and dangled her legs in the water. Courtney sat on a turtle floatie, her feet kicking through the water on either side of her. The boys were messing around at the other end of the pool. The girls chatted idly as the sun travelled above them. The clouds scattered the longer they remained outside. 

They spoke about Ian (although that conversation ended quickly) and what Joe said about his past. The topic then switched to a new t.v. show that aired a few weeks ago. 

“Do you want to watch the new episode tonight?” Courtney asked.

“Tonight?” Olivia responded. Her nerves jumped as she shook her head. “No, I’m busy tonight.”

“Busy?” Courtney said. She slipped off of the floatie and swam over to the edge. 

Olivia hesitated, thinking quickly. She pushed some of her long hair behind her ear.

“You remember how I had to babysit Quinn a few months ago?” Olivia asked, pointing to nothing in particular. “Their mom called me this morning and asked if I could watch them for a few hours.”

Courtney made a noise of understanding. She moved away when Keith called for her, leaving Olivia to breathe a little easier. Olivia didn’t like lying to the others, but it was easier than telling them where she was really going every week. Visiting a friend wasn’t illegal, but she didn’t think they would understand.

Olivia watched the others, eventually walking over to sit in a chair by the group. She pretended not to notice Shayne sending her suspicious glances every few minutes.

⤔

**Joven**

The heat didn’t dissipate once the sun fell and darkness encased the tiny town. Stars twinkled in the sky and the moon was a little less than full. That was one of the things Joven liked about living in Jonestown; he could see the stars. It wasn’t something a person could see in Los Angeles. The heat, however, was a different story. Joven had the vents blasting cold air through the entire car. He tapped the steering wheel to a beat that didn’t exist as he waited patiently. If Joven wasn’t watching a potentially armed and dangerous man, he would’ve thought the peace and quiet was an adequate space to write a book. Although, he was hopefully going to be doing a little more than just watching soon. 

The bar, Full Moon, wasn’t too busy. There were a few patrons that still remained, but it was enough stillness to get business done and to help make him look less suspicious. Their strange behavior probably wasn’t a concern as there was still no sign of a Shadow Agent in the town. However, one can’t be too careful — especially in Joven’s situation. 

Joven didn’t look away from the far window in the corner of the bar. He had, luckily, been able to park in a way that wouldn’t get him seen even before the subject had arrived. He had gotten one funny look from a drunk that passed by the car, but Joven just waved at him. He quickly flashed his phone at the stranger, pretending as if he was waiting to drive a friend home. The stranger smirked and bowed his head, waving in understanding. 

Joven had thought that watching the subject would have gotten tiring. And it has in a way, but he also enjoyed knowing something that Mari didn’t, primarily since he had done so much work for it. Joven loved Mari and that wouldn’t change, but they were the most trusted of the SMOSH members besides Joe. Lasercorn was too, but Mari and Joven were usually part of special missions because Laser had a bit of a temper and a habit of showing off. Joven did too, but that was mainly for a joke. Whenever Mari was sent on special tasks, her ego inflated a little bit. It was natural and it made Mari the loveable woman she was, but Joven was a little tired of missing out. So, having the chance to be in on this was exciting. 

Looking at his phone, Joven saw the clock turn 12:08. He was eight minutes late for the meeting, but he meant to be so. He wasn’t dumb enough to just waltz in when they were supposed to meet in case they had called agents to arrest him. It was also why he had sat in his car at the edge of the parking lot for an extra three hours. Joven had to be careful while dealing with the stranger. 

At 12:48, Joven was convinced that it was safe to walk in. He got out of the car with a small grunt and shut the door. He locked it — hesitating to do so in case he had to run away, but then he remembered he could teleport home if he needed to — and stuck the keys in his pocket. He opened the door to the bar; it wasn’t empty yet, but there were a few people that had left in the forty minutes he had waited in the car. Joven ordered a beer and then went to sit down in front of the man sitting in a booth in the far corner. The man had a larger frame than Joven, but that wasn’t surprising considering his old job. He also had a giant beard.

“You Josh?” The stranger asked.

“You Matt?” Joven replied. Matt was silent as he watched Joven take a sip of his drink. “What is it you need, Matt? Why did you call this meeting?”

Matt remained quiet for several moments before leaning forward. His lips barely moved as he spoke.

“We need help,” Matt whispered.

Joven furrowed his eyebrows and leaned back slightly so that they didn’t look so suspicious. 

“We?” Joven replied.

“I have three with me,” Matt clarified. “One of them heard about your little group and I brought them here.”

“Why?” Joven questioned. “It’s unusual for people like you to help people like me.”

Matt paused for a second, thinking. Joven could see a thousand emotions flying through his eyes, but he hid them before Joven could decipher any of them. 

“Because I… I needed to,” Matt said earnestly. “They showed me I was wrong. I helped them out and now I’m asking for you to help us.”

Joven leaned back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest. 

“Well, that’s what we do,” Joven said. He eyed Matt as he continued. “But I have to talk to the boss. He decides who comes in and who doesn’t. And it might take awhile for you to be able to come in.”

The bit about Ian wasn’t totally true. People are able to just show up if they need to stay with them for a while, but this was a special circumstance. 

“I understand,” Matt said immediately. 

“Good,” Joven said. He took another sip of his drink, although he didn’t want to have too much. “Now tell me about the people you took with you.”


	17. Close to Normal, But Not Quite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say a few things before this chapter begins. None of you have mentioned Wes to me, so I don't think you mind, but I wanted to bring it up to ease my mind. I just recently found out about an allegation against Wes. I don't know all of the details, which I'm not sure I mind, but I think it's a court case now??? I'm not sure, so don't quote me on it!!! I've read what I can, but some stuff has been taken down and everything. I'm saying now that unless he is found guilty or something else happens to that degree, I'm keeping him in this story. You might not see his POV very much, but I'm not re-writing this again unless I feel like I absolutely need to. If any of you see any news about it and feel like it might dictate what I do with the story, then please share it with me.  
> If you don't like that I have Wes in this, then don't read it. This isn't to cause any discord or meant as a negative thing. I get it. This story isn't going to be used to pass judgement on him or anyone else from/in Smosh. This is not going to a reflection of what's happening in real time.  
> That's all. I just wanted to bring it up so that I don't feel weird writing the story, because I have a lot of ideas for the future of this story.

**Courtney**

The next morning dawned windy and uncharacteristically cloudy. It was gloomy in a way that made Courtney want to do nothing, and yet she was restless at the same time. The idea of laying in bed all day tempted her, but she knew she would feel awful tomorrow. Maybe, Courtney should go and fly a lap around the town; that might help her feel better. But that would have to wait until after breakfast. 

Courtney sighed and tossed her blanket aside. She got up and trudged over to her “balcony” and opened the double doors. Her royal blue curtains swayed as the wind filtered into the bedroom. Courtney went to the bathroom and worked on her makeup. The routine made her feel a little better — more organized — and she felt like she could begin her day. She looked over to her closet, throwing on leggings and a white t-shirt, careful not to touch her face. She went back to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. The thought of curling her hair crossed her mind, but she shook her head at her reflection. Her hair was fine. 

Sighing contentedly, Courtney went over to her bed and started pulling on her denim jacket. She had one arm through the sleeve and was about to snake her other arm into the jacket, but something made her pause. Movement and the crunch of gravel under someone’s shoe to be exact. 

Courtney dropped the half of the jacket she was holding and crouched down. She creeped over to the balcony window and pulled the curtain aside. She peeked from behind the fabric and saw Joven walking towards the door. She glanced at her clock; it was 8:30. He wasn’t sneaking around, but Courtney could tell he was choosing his steps carefully. He reached the front door and disappeared. 

That was odd; Courtney didn’t hear a car or the garage, which meant that Joven teleported home. But Courtney didn’t remember him leaving last night. Joven also didn’t have coffee or anything, so it didn’t look like there was any reason for him to have left early in the morning. 

Courtney shook her head and rose from her crouch. She shoved her arm into the other sleeve and ran a hand through her hair. Remembering the double doors were still open, Courtney closed them. She scanned the room for anything else she missed. When she was satisfied that she wasn’t leaving anything, she left the bedroom. She closed the door gently and walked across the hall to Olivia’s room. Courtney knocked on her friend’s door three times. There was no answer. She knocked again, but the door didn’t open. 

“Liv?” Courtney called, knocking once more. Still no answer.

Courtney sighed and let her hand drop. Maybe Olivia was already downstairs. Courtney went over to the staircase and made her way down to the first floor. The kitchen wasn’t busy yet, but a few people had woken up. Joven was sitting at the table, an omelet in front of him. He looked utterly exhausted with dark shadows beneath his eyes. Keith was rummaging through the fridge for something to eat. Damien, who also looked tired, was sitting at the other end of the table with papers in front of him, holding a pen. 

She went over to the fridge, Keith grinning at her and moving aside so that she could look. Courtney saw a bowl of black raspberries that someone had washed. She took the bowl out and set it on the counter. Then, she prepared toast and spread a liberal amount of peanut butter on each slice. After placing a small handful of berries on her plate and putting the bowl back, Courtney went over and sat next to Damien. She saw his shoulders tense, but he didn’t say anything. She remained quiet for a little while and watched him work.

The papers in front of him were articles on the Shadow Killer’s victims; all twelve of them. He was reading an article about the newest victim, Casey Fuller. Every once in a while, Damien would underline a sentence or two and then continue reading. It wasn’t just the one article; Courtney could see the other articles have long, blue lines in every paragraph. 

“What’re you doing?” Courtney asked when Damien pulled a different piece of paper in front of him. 

Damien glanced at her before answering.

“Research,” he answered simply. 

Courtney popped a raspberry into her mouth.

“On the Shadow Killer?” She asked. Damien nodded, but didn’t offer anything else. She waited a second, before saying, “Why?”

Damien glanced at her, longer this time. Courtney didn’t realize she had leaned forward to look at what he had annotated on each paper. She cleared her throat and sat back.

“I’m annoying you,” she murmured. “Sorry.”

Damien’s eyes widened and he shook his head vehemently. 

“No! I just thought —” Damien paused and shook his head again, at himself this time. “Nevermind. Something about it all seems familiar. It’s strange and I want to figure it out.”

“Oh,” Courtney hummed. “Did you look at the news or…”

“I, uh, I heard about it yesterday and Olivia explained it. I looked into it when you two went down to the pool.”

“And it seems familiar to you?” Courtney said. Damien nodded, but his gaze had moved away from her chin to his hand. It looked as if he was ready for her to tell him that he was crazy for researching it. “But you don’t know what it is?” Damien nodded again. “Well, I think it’s not a bad idea. I’m not sure what it could be, but maybe you could find something and send in a tip to the police.”

“Or go after them ourselves,” Damien grumbled.

Courtney didn’t blame him for his mistrust in the police force. They weren’t doing a spectacular job at the moment (for several reasons). Courtney smiled slightly at him and allowed him to finish his work. She ate the rest of her food and walked over to the sink. She washed her plate.

The sound of the door opening rang through the kitchen. Footsteps made their way to the kitchen, making Courtney look over her shoulder. Olivia had just arrived and was putting her purse on the table. Courtney noticed that Joven had left.

“Hey,” Courtney greeted the other woman. 

“Hey,” Olivia smiled as she walked to the fridge.

Courtney dried the plate and set it aside. She leaned against the counter as Olivia analyzed the contents of the fridge.

“I didn’t know you were going to be babysitting Quinn all night,” she commented as Olivia pulled out the eggs. 

Olivia didn’t falter and continued to prepare for making her breakfast. She pulled out a pan before answering.

“I wasn’t supposed to,” Olivia said. She placed the pan on a burner and turned it on. “Mrs. Morris called me at one in the morning saying she wasn’t off work until four and that I might as well stay the night.”

Courtney hummed. Olivia tapped an egg on the counter and cracked it open. The egg fell onto the pan and sizzled. Olivia threw the shell in the sink before looking at her.

“I’m sorry I missed the new episode, Court,” Olivia said. “I’ll make it up to you I promise.”

“It’s fine,” Courtney replied. “You didn’t really miss anything.”

Olivia smiled and pat Courtney’s arm in apology. Courtney returned the smile. 

“Hey, Courtney!” Shayne called from the kitchen entrance. “Wanna come with me to get coffee?”

Courtney shrugged. 

“Sure!”

Shayne grinned and walked out. Courtney followed him — a chorus of “usual please” echoing through the hallway — and shoved her shoes on. Jonestown had just gotten a Starbucks a few months ago and it had become the place they all went to the most. However, there was a super cute cafe that a nice coupe owned and they all made sure to visit them every week so that they stayed in business. 

Courtney made her way through the front door and her hair was immediately blown in front of her face by the wind. She held her hair out of her eyes as she walked to the car that Shayne had already pulled in front of the house. She got in and heard soft music playing from a random radio station.They pulled out of the long driveway and onto the two-lane road. Patches of leaves had started to turn brown from the heat and direct sunlight. Hopefully it will rain a little so that they don’t fall off, but Courtney knew how unlikely it would be. 

The drive that Courtney had expected to quiet, took a very different turn.

“I saw you talking to Damien,” Shayne brought up. “How was he?”

Courtney shrugged.

“Better, I guess,” she said. “I think researching will help.”

“Research?” Shayne inquired.

“He’s looking into the Shadow Killer murders,” Courtney told him.

“Oh,” Shayne said. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Speaking of helping him…”

Courtney looked at him, eyebrows furrowed. 

“What?”

Shayne suddenly seemed reluctant to share what was on his mind. He glanced away from the road and to her. Courtney saw something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite decipher.

“What,” she said again.

Shayne licked his lips and sighed again. 

“I think we need to approach how we help him from a different angle,” he said. 

“It’s going to take more than six days for him to get over it, Shayne,” Courtney said. 

“Oh, definitely,” he agreed. “But he’s not thinking the same way we are. We know it’s Ian’s fault and he’s staying in his office because we’re mad at him for pushing Damien. Damien sees Ian staying in his office because he’s upset Damien didn’t do what he wanted. Not to mention he feels awful about the chandelier. For him to feel better at all we have to show him none of us think what he believes to be true.”

“How —” Courtney tried to say, but Shayne interrupted.

“We’re all babying him, and while that was good a few days ago, it’s not what he needs now. He’s starting to think we’re all nervous around him,” Shayne explained. “He thinks we’re waiting for him to blow up again.”

“But we’re not,” Courtney said.

“I know that,” Shayne replied. “But Damien’s not — he’s not like us, Courtney. He’s traumatized on multiple levels and has had a horrible life. He’s not ever going to see things from our perspective. We can’t force him to either, but we can try to accommodate accordingly. And what he needs — at this moment — is not treating him like he’s a fragile doll.”

Courtney was quiet for a moment. She watched the strawberry field flash by her window.

“What do we do?” she asked.

“Ask him to do something with you. Clean, cook, inflate a pool floatie — anything,” he told her without any hesitation. “He needs to know that we want him to stay.”

“Did he say he was leaving?” Courtney panicked.

Shayne shrugged.

“No,” he admitted. “I don’t think he could though. He’s a wanted “asylum escapee”, but we can’t let him stay and suffer for no reason, right?” He waited for Courtney’s nod of agreement before he continued. “He needs to be needed. For now, that’s what he needs more than anything.”

“How do you know all of this?” Courtney asked.

The town appeared and Shayne turned left. He hesitated briefly.

“I know people like him,” he said finally.

Finally, they turned into the Starbucks and pulled into a parking space. Courtney unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.

“Did Damien want anything?” she asked as they walked inside.

“He said he’s never had coffee before,” he replied quietly. “I’m getting black coffee for him to try. We have sugar and stuff that he can add if he wants.”

They proceeded to order eight different cups of coffee of varying types and sizes.


	18. Fear Makes the World Go Round

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Nightmares and Panic Attacks!!!! The panic attack is from the perspective of the one having it this time! Nightmare is in italics and the panic attack takes place after that!  
> Also, this chapter talks about the murder of children! None of it is graphic!

**Damien**

He spent the next three days cooped up in his room. His nightmares — now frequently providing him with scenes of his new friends dying — had been slowly getting more and more demented over the past couple of nights. Damien couldn’t face the others without wincing at the images that popped into his mind. He barely slept though. Instead, he focused on the evidence wall that was steadily growing. Joven was kind enough to provide Damien with any corkboard and string he needed. 

Damien was studying the Shadow Killer murders. The police believe that there is very little to be gleaned from the crime scenes. Although, that just confirmed that they are astonishingly bad at their jobs. Or, they were lazy; Damien didn’t know which was worse. It was clear the police wanted an open and shut case, but this was anything but that. If one looked hard enough, they would find a lot of information.

There had been ten victims already; Gabby Evers, Emma Fowler, Tyler Ashton, Connor Ried, Olivia Edgerton, Ryan Morris, Hank O’Connor, Mary Yallop, Linda Udall, Connor Robinson, Samantha Allen, and Casey Fuller. They were all between the ages of thirteen and five and found in their bed the next morning. All except for the newest victim — Casey Fuller. The article said that the nine-year-old was found in the kitchen after her parents woke up in the middle of the night. The report said that both women heard a crash (which woke them up) and ran down to the kitchen, where they found their daughter, a hole in the wall, and a broken table. 

That was a red flag. Damien wasn’t sure why that would happen, but all circumstances were odd in that situation. It was possible that the kid woke up and went to get a drink of water or heard a noise come from the kitchen. It caught the Shadow Killer off guard and a fight ensued. However, that didn’t seem like all that had happened. There was too much damage to be explained by a fight, especially if it was an adult against a child. 

An interesting puzzle piece was the killer’s calling card. Three flowers were always left behind at the scene, usually in the hands of the child. An orange lily, a petunia, and a black rose. This is one of the theories Damien wonders if the police have strung together. The black rose, typically used to mean death and mourning, symbolizes hatred and revenge. The petunia, while pretty, have come to mean deep resentment and anger. Finally, despite how lovely lilies tend to be, the orange lily can be held to a different light. They can symbolize hate, pride, and contempt. 

Damien thinks they are intentionally picked for the meaning behind each flower. If this theory is true, it is clear that the Shadow Killer is angry, seemingly to the point of revenge. Why they want revenge, Damien is unsure of. It could be that the families are completely random and the killer is expressing resentment from their childhood. And because they were a child, they’re taking it out on children. 

However, Damien is unsure if the families are random. It’s true, the victims from the tenth and seventeenth of the same month live relatively close to each other. But they all lived throughout the state of California. Two in Fresno one month, then two more in San Diego the next. 

Damien hoped he wasn’t becoming too demented. He didn’t find this enjoyable… There was just something about them that made him feel unsettled. Something about the murders bugged him, he just had to find what it was. 

Sighing, he backed away from the board and sat on his bed. The clock read 1:38. He should try to sleep. He knew it wasn’t to help him, but it would at least rest his eyes.

⤔

_ The house was completely unrecognizable. All of the windows were shattered and tables were overturned. Every light was busted, casting it in dark shadows despite the sunlight outside. The sound of laughter and chatter had disappeared, replaced by a loud rattling. The entire house shook beneath Damien’s feet. _

_ Damien didn’t understand at first. Why was the house falling apart? Where was everyone? A ripping sensation within him made him wince. The trembled violently as the sensation grew. Dread pulsed in Damien’s gut. His lungs constricted in panic.  _

_ He closed his eyes and cast his awareness out. The energy weaving through the house was in utter chaos. So much so, that Damien had a hard time making out the image that was provided in his mind. But with another pulse and rip, the image steadied enough for him to understand. The house was being torn apart. Screws and nails fell to the floor as they were wrenched from the support beams. As cracks appeared in the drywall, energy flooded the opening so that it was torn away from the walls. Wood splintered as an invisible force tore at it maliciously.  _

_ Damien couldn’t stop it. He tried to force the wooden beams to stay in place, but they fell anyway. He picked up the shattered pieces of glass and forced them back into the window frames, but they never glued themselves together. He pushed against the walls to keep the house intact, but he pushed too hard and they began to fall the other way.  _

_ “Damien!”  _

_ He spun around and came face to face with Ian. Behind him was the rest of SMOSH with expressions ranging from loathing to fear. Damien flinched back as the house gave another shudder. _

_ “You have to stop this, Damien,” Ian said, anger bright on his face.  _

_ “I’m trying!” Damien cried. “I swear!” _

_ “Not hard enough,” Mari called from behind Ian’s shoulder.  _

_ Damien felt a pang in his chest. He refocused on the house and pulled the walls back. Letting go of the glass, Damien reached out and seized the base of the house. It did almost nothing; the house still shook around them, falling to the ground piece by piece. He didn’t — couldn’t — give up. He couldn’t let everybody die. Not when he finally had  _ _ a family _ _ friends. He pushed up the ceiling as it began to crack. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t let his friends down. _

_ There was a ripping sound followed by a crash and Damien was thrown down to his back. _

_ “DAMIEN!” The voice was panicked, not angry. _

_ He chanced a look down at the others and his heart dropped. Shayne was trapped beneath the chandelier, which is what had fallen. The man’s left leg was pinned to the floor, but the rest of his body was, luckily, untouched; he was trapped in the concave space in the frame. Damien surged forward, but he stopped when he saw a wall begin to crumble.  _

_ “Damien, help!” Shayne keened. _

_ Damien felt a whine build up in the back of his throat. _

_ “Shayne,” he panted. “Hold on. I’ll get you out.” _

_ Damien’s gaze snapped up to the group, but they were gone. The hall leading to the kitchen was now empty. The section of the staircase collapsed, making Damien look in that direction. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Dr. Brevil standing on the stairs. He had his signature smile frozen on his face. His eyes were cold as ever.  _

_ Damien felt the energy around him convulse as his panic spiked. His chest spasmed and his heart was suddenly in his throat. He couldn’t speak, not even to Shayne, who was crying out his name.  _

_ Suddenly the ceiling fell. Damien couldn’t do anything but watch as it came tumbling down on their heads. _

⤔

Damien couldn’t breathe. His lungs ached as he tried to bring in oxygen. His wheezing gasps brought nothing except more panic. His mind buzzed, thoughts no longer present as he pulled the blankets away from him. Damien held a hand in front of his eyes as the other one pressed against his chest. His heart pounded against his ribcage, not that he needed confirmation since he could hear it. He clenched his jaw and he clutched at his shirt. 

A picture suddenly pierced through the blind panic; Shayne, trapped under the chandelier. Damien coughed as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He had to see if he was okay. His lungs spasmed as he got up and ran out of his room. He still couldn’t breathe, but that was the least of his concerns. He had to make sure Shayne was fine. Damien ran up the stairs and ran to the end of the hallway. He reached his friend’s room and knocked three times. He only let two milliseconds pass before he knocked again. 

Maybe he should forget about the code and continue knocking. He knocked three times again, his whole body shivering as he tried to keep himself from falling to the floor. What if he was angry from being woken up? What if he didn’t answer? Maybe Shayne was downstairs. Maybe he really was trapped and in pain. Maybe Damien was too late. What if the house was falling apart? What if —

The door opened to reveal a very tired and confused Shayne. He opened his mouth, but he paused when he saw Damien. He’s angry, Damien thought. He should leave and let Shayne sleep. He should —

“Damien?” Shayne asked, although it was muffled to Damien’s ears. “What’s wrong?”

“You — I — the house —” Damien’s mind couldn’t keep up with the words his mouth wanted to say. 

Shayne frowned and held the door wider. His frown deepened when Damien didn’t move. So, Shayne pulled him inside of his room. Damien rushed over to the desk chair and fell into it. He slumped forward and rested his head in his hands. He did something wrong. Something bad was going to happen. He couldn’t do anything to stop it. He needed —

Damien flinched away when he felt a weight on his shoulder. He heard something, but it was a muffled buzz in his ears. Any breath he had was gone — used up by the words he had spoken to Shayne. He coughed weakly and black spots danced in his vision. He gripped his hair, hoping it would help him feel better. 

He didn’t know how long he stayed like that. Eventually, Damien’s hearing sharpened and he could hear what the buzzing was. It was Shayne.

“It’ll be okay,” he was saying. “I’m right here.”

Damien also noticed his friend holding onto his hands, keeping them away from his face. His breathing was still much too fast.

“Shayne,” he wheezed.

Shayne shifted and Damien could see him even though he was still hunched over.

“Hey, bud,” he said with a small smile. “Breathe with me, okay?”

The other man took a deep breath, exaggerating it so that Damien could follow along. Then he blew it out through his mouth. Damien tried to copy him, but the air got caught halfway to his lungs. 

“That’s okay,” Shayne said. “Let’s try again.”

Damien did his best to follow along with Shayne’s exaggerated breathing. It took a while, but Damien could finally breathe. His breaths were still a little shallower than they should be, but it was much better than it was before. 

He shifted so that he was leaning back in the chair with his eyes closed. Shayne let go of his hands and sat on the bed. Neither of them spoke for a long time. Damien could hear crickets outside. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Shayne’s voice was quiet and full of concern. Damien didn’t open his eyes.

“It —” Damien hesitated. Did he want to tell Shayne? It wasn’t really important. But he probably deserved to know… Damien did show up at his door in the middle of the night. “It was a nightmare.”

“The usual?” Shayne asked.

Damien shook his head.

“Not really,” he said. “Brevil was in it, but it wasn’t about Orion.”

“What happened?”

Damien recalled the vivid scene and panic crept back into his throat. He opened his eyes slightly to look at Shayne. His hair was messy and he had slight circles under his eyes. Other than that, he seemed completely fine. Shame replaced the panic and he closed his eyes again. He shouldn’t have woken him up. 

“You don’t have to tell me,” Shayne said. 

Damien swallowed nervously.

“The house was falling apart,” he muttered. “The ceiling was caving in. Everyone was there, telling me to fix it, but I couldn’t even hold it up. Then the chandelier fell and yo — someone — was trapped underneath it. I heard them calling out to me. Then Brevil was there, watching from the stairs.”

There was a long pause that hung between them. He could feel Shayne staring into the side of his face. Damien clenched his jaw as he waited for Shayne to say something.

“That’s not going to happen,” Shayne said finally. Damien heard him take a deep breath. “What happened wasn’t your fault. Ian was being an ass and no one blames you for what happened. You didn’t hurt anyone.”

“But I could’ve.”

The response tumbled from Damien’s mouth without his consent. He immediately tensed up, his shoulders by his ears. 

“But you didn’t,” Shayne fired back. Another sigh. “Damien, I know that you don’t believe this, but you shouldn’t be worried about hurting us. You didn’t shoot us with those crystals… you hit the lamps. You avoided any target that was right in front of you.”

Damien didn’t say anything as he mulled over his friend’s words. There was more to the worry than just what happened a week ago. Damien  _ has  _ hurt people before, many times. And just because he tried to avoid it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. 

He opened his eyes and looked towards the window. The sun was starting to rise and he could hear birds begin their morning songs. It was almost perfect. Damien was in an actual house, living his life. He had friends, and although he hasn’t known them long, he would do anything for them. He had a part of himself that he had thought he lost a long time ago. 

“You’re right,” Damien said softly. “I don’t believe you. I shouldn’t have woken you up. I’m sorry.”

Damien stood up and walked to the door. He was ready to leave; he had only gone up to make sure Shayne wasn’t really in trouble. 

“Damien,” Shayne called.

He paused, his hand halfway to the door handle. 

“We want you here,” Shayne said confidently. “We care about you.”

Damien swallowed, but he didn’t turn around. 

“I know,” he murmured before exiting Shayne’s room.

And the truth was, Damien did know. He believed it whenever Shayne or anyone else said it. It was a statement that filled Damien with warmth, but that didn’t stop the fear. Damien felt as though he was always going to be afraid of the world turning its back on him again. 


	19. What Control Means to Us

**Shayne**

Something dripped from the ceiling in one of the dusty corners of the basement. Shayne tried to ignore it as he watched Joe and Damien, who were both sitting on the floor across from him. Damien kept his hands on his legs while Joe spoke quietly.

“The concept of control is difficult to demonstrate,” he was saying. The healer kept his eyes on Damien’s mouth. These lessons wouldn’t be as effective if Damien felt overwhelmed. So, Joe was doing everything he could to make Damien feel comfortable. 

“In a sense,” Joe continued, “you have excellent control. Your strength, endurance, and range of ability is astounding, especially when you consider how old you were when your abilities developed to the point they’re at now.”

Shayne watched as Damien’s expression spasmed between disgust and desperation. 

“The difference between you and me, or you and Shayne,” Joe paused briefly so that he could meet Damien’s eyes, “is what you were taught. I was lucky enough to have parents who had gone through it before and taught me to use my powers  _ and _ hide them.”

“I spent every night practicing in my room,” Shayne chimed in.

“He had time to grow into his power. He never had a reason to fear it,” Joe explained with a nod. “Shayne and I could experiment on our own terms. You, on the other hand, didn’t.”

“I know that,” Damien murmured. “That’s what I told Shayne.”

“There’s more to it than that, though,” Joe said. “At least that’s what I theorize. Would you like to hear what else I think?”

Damien hesitated, but nodded. 

Shayne hoped that Joe had an actual idea as to what was happening to Damien. His friend had been suffering ever since his outburst and, no matter what Shayne said, Damien wouldn’t listen to him. But Joe had a knack for getting people to listen to him. It must be an energy thing.

Joe smiled encouragingly before continuing. 

“Like what you told Shayne, you were pushed to your limits everyday.” 

Joe’s voice never rose, but Shayne knew that anger was coursing through him. Shayne felt it too. 

“You were under constant pressure to perform for the government. You were pushed to great lengths so that your power continued to grow even if you weren’t ready for it. They were still developing before you were ready for them to.”

“I said that too,” Damien sighed. 

“You were encouraged to let your powers explode when you were in danger,” Joe continued as if Damien hadn’t said anything. “So, what happened a few days ago, is what you were taught to do. For most of your time as a developing Anomaly, you were told to let your abilities control you.”

“So — what — he’s afraid of them?” Shayne asked before he could stop himself. 

Joe glanced at Shayne, shrugging slightly.

“I think he’s afraid of what they can do,” Joe said. He looked back at Damien. “Of what you can do — of what you have done.”

Damien shook his head, his frustration more prominent before.

“But —”

“Damien,” Joe interrupted calmly. “It’s okay to be afraid of yourself. I was… Shayne, Mari, Ian, Courtney — we were all afraid of what we could do.”

“But you aren’t anymore!”

They were all quiet for a moment. Damien's hands were curled into fists, clutching onto his jeans. Even from where he sat, Shayne could see that Damien’s jaw was set. Shayne released a deep breath and looked at Joe.

“Damien,” Shayne called. His friend looked at him slowly. “I am. I am scared. I’m afraid that I can’t do enough to protect people when I need to.” Shayne glanced at Joe for a millisecond. “Two years ago, when we were attacked at our old home, it was chaos. At some point, they cornered us in the family room. I knew what was about to happen a second before it did. An agent from the stairs lifted his weapon, I saw it and threw a barrier up, but it was too late. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Ian went down. My barrier was only big enough to cover a few of us. The only reason we got away was because they…” Shayne’s throat tightened at the memory. However, he pushed forward for Damien’s sake. “They got to Anthony. We were able to escape because the other agents heard the shots outside.”

Damien stared at Shayne for a minute. Shayne could practically see what the other man was thinking.

“Just because it’s a different reason behind the fear, doesn’t mean that it’s not fear.”

Joe jumped in before Damien could say anything.

“Your abilities grew, but your confidence in them didn’t. You grew up in a way that didn’t let you explore or learn anything for yourself. Everything that you can do, is based on others pushing you to be able to use your skills for their purposes. You were weaponized, Damien.”

Damien was quiet still. He stared at the floor, deep in thought. When he was ready to speak, he looked between Joe and Shayne.

“So what do we do about it,” he whispered.

Joe gave him a sad smile.

“What should have been done when you were a kid,” Joe explained. “We are going to help you get used to using it on your own terms.”

“But I know what I can do,” Damien said.

“But you were taught to use them to the highest degree at all times,” Joe said. “You can’t expect a dog used to fight to not bite you even though it has a new home.”

“Okay,” Damien said doubtfully. “What are we going to do?”

“Close your eyes,” Joe murmured. 

Damien did.

“Take deep breaths,” Joe said. “When an Anomaly is coming into their abilities, the first thing they should be taught is to feel it. It could be a hum that lives next to your heart or a whisper that you can hear while trying to fall asleep. My mom used to say that every Anomaly’s power has an origin. Can you feel it?”

Shayne found that thought a little peculiar. He guessed it was right; he could feel a force within him harden whenever he created a barrier. When he was twelve, Shayne was almost knocked to the ground every time because it felt like every bone was used as a springboard. 

“I think so,” Damien whispered. 

“Where is it?”

“Everywhere.”

“It’s a friend,” Joe said quietly. “It has been with you since you were a child. You know it just as well as you know yourself.”

Joe stopped talking and continued taking deep breaths. Damien followed suit and kept his eyes closed. He looked more relaxed than he had in several days. 

Shayne looked down at his hand and held it open, palm up. He focused for a brief moment and a weight fell in his hand. A small, transparent globe of shimmering air sat in his palm. A smile formed when he thought of the first time he had been able to do this. He had thrown it into a creek by his house to see it skip across the surface of the water. He used to also encase leaves and would pelt it with rocks to see if it broke.

“What did you do?” Damien asked suddenly.

Shayne looked up. His friend’s eyes were still closed, but he had angled his face in Shayne’s direction. A look of confusion greeted him. Joe had opened his eyes as Damien’s words.

“I, uh, made a little sphere,” Shayne said. “It’s something I do sometimes.”

“Interesting,” Damien commented to himself.

“What is?” Joe asked.

“It’s not made of air,” Damien said. 

“It’s not?” Shayne said, surprised. 

It certainly looked like air. That’s what Shayne had always assumed that’s what it was.

“No,” Damien said, a smile now on his face. “It's made of actual material. I don’t know what it is, but you’re not manipulating the particles or anything.”

“How do you know?” Joe asked. His voice was still quiet, but it was happier than it had been the entire meeting. 

“It manifests differently,” Damien said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. “It doesn’t behave like it does when Olivia is using her abilities. But it doesn’t act like the air or energy when I manipulate it. It just appears.”

“Wow,” Shayne muttered. He saw Damien smile proudly before he turned away to sit normally.

Shayne swept the barrier out of existence soon after Damien called attention to it. It was probably better to keep Damien focusing on what Joe was telling him to do. Although, Damien was showing enough interest in the barrier that he would probably use it as an exercise in the future. 

After a while, Joe explained that there were many adults who demonstrated the need for control. Shayne, for example, needed to hold a hand out to produce a barrier. Mari needed to use a hand to point to a target if she was hurling a piece of metal through the air. Lasercorn has a habit of flailing his arm in the direction that he was aiming the fireballs in. It helps the Anomaly focus, although it’s more for comfort than for anything else.

The three of them remained silent for nearly half an hour. When Damien opened his eyes, they were much calmer than they were at the start of the lesson. They didn’t shift around the room in a paranoid fashion. The three of them stood up when Damien asked a question.

“So, why did it feel like my skin was crawling? I hadn’t felt that in years.”

“It’s what happens when a young Anomaly is coming into their power. For a while, the powers need to be expressed. A person has to exercise them to be able to contain them as they grow older.”

“But I have been using them,” Damien said. “For almost twenty years.”

“Your strength has grown exponentially compared to everything else. Your body probably has to process what is happening to it.”

Damien nodded and Joe patted him on the arm.

“You did great today, Damien,” he reassured. “We’ll get there together.”

Damien gave him a small smile. Shayne opened the door for the two of them and Damien walked up the stairs. 

“Good job,” Joe whispered as he passed.

Shayne smiled to himself and headed up to the dining room. He halted mid step when he saw the scene before him. Everyone in the kitchen was turned towards the center of the room. Ian had finally come out of his office and stood facing Damien with a hesitance of a fawn. 

“Ian,” Damien breathed.

Ian didn’t look at anyone else, but he had the stance of a man about to be attacked. Everyone was probably thinking along those lines if Shayne’s own thoughts were any indication. Shayne distantly wondered how many minds Ian could read at once.

“I’m sorry,” Ian said as clearly as he could. 

Damien didn’t give him any kind of reaction. He stared at Ian evenly as he pondered what to do. 

“I know,” Damien said after another moment. “I understand.”

“It doesn’t matter whether you understand or not,” Ian said at once. “What I did was wrong and it goes against everything that SMOSH stands for and what I’ve done for the last seven years. You have every right to distrust me, but I want you to know that you belong here. I will never force you, or anyone else in this house, to do something you don’t want to do.”

Damien took a second to answer again.

“Thanks,” he murmured, a very small smile on his face. “I forgive you.”

Ian let go of a breath that he was holding, a hand moving up over his heart. Someone laughed and chatter filled the room. Any animosity held towards Ian seemed to have vanished in an instant. Although, maybe it was just pushed down for Damien’s sake. 

Shayne still felt anger poking his heart, but this wasn’t his argument. If Damien accepted it, then that was that. It was over.

“Hey, Damien,” Courtney called. “Can you come help me cook this?”

“Yeah!” Damien said, hurrying over to the stove.


	20. Retrieval Unit

**Keith**

The kitchen was almost completely empty on Saturday morning, the only exceptions being Joe, Ian, Joven, and Mari. Judging by the way their heads were bent close together, they were trying to have a meeting while everyone else slept. It looked serious; Mari’s eyebrows were furrowed and Joven was frowning. 

Keith tried to keep himself from listening in as he made breakfast. Although, he thought that they should have the meeting somewhere else if they didn’t want people to eavesdrop. Keith paused as he continued to think about it. If they were in the kitchen, it may not be something they’re going to hide from the rest of them. And if Keith happened to overhear whatever they were saying, they couldn’t blame him. 

His curiosity got the better of him. He had to do this carefully, otherwise they’ll get suspicious of him. Keith glanced over at them and picked up his plate. He walked out of the kitchen, barely looking at the others. He walked down the hall a few paces, but didn’t go upstairs. Instead, he placed his plate of food on a small table in the hall and tiptoed back. He rubbed his hands with a smirk on his face, and camouflaged himself. This is when his ability came in handy. 

Keith continued back towards the kitchen as quietly as he could. He walked on the balls of his feet and kept one hand on the wall — fingertips barely brushing against it — so that he didn’t have to worry about balance. He stepped back into the kitchen and listened.

“And you’re sure they’re safe?” Mari was asking. “I don’t think we can afford to move again.”

“He seems earnest,” Joven said. “I’ve asked about his story a hundred times and he hasn’t wavered from it once.”

There was a pause. Keith took a few small steps closer to the group. Joe sighed.

“Who’s going to go get them?” 

“Keith,” Ian called suddenly. 

Keith jumped. In a second, he had dropped the camouflage and appeared before the group. Mari laughed and Joven chuckled. 

“I didn’t hear anything,” Keith said at once. 

Ian laughed, shaking his head slightly.

“Doesn’t matter if you did,” he chuckled. “We have new members joining us today. I want you to go with Joven to pick them up.”

Keith nodded, fidgeting. He changed his stance so that he was standing more comfortably. 

“How many?” 

“Four,” Joven supplied. 

“You can eat your breakfast first,” Ian told him. “But I want you two to leave soon.”

Keith nodded again and went to grab his breakfast. He brought it into the kitchen, sinking into the chair next to Mari. She was still hiding snickers behind her hand. He nudged her playfully. 

Twenty minutes later, Keith met Joven by the front door. Ian had just gone upstairs to wake everyone up after giving Keith his instructions. It would be best to stay hidden until they were completely sure that they could trust them. They would be teleporting to the backyard of the safehouse the Anomalies were using. Joven was told there was a fence to hide them. 

Even though everyone knew they lived in the giant house on the outskirts of town, they didn’t want to get caught leading people there. That was one of the reasons their last hideout was found. The Shadow Agents were able to trace the reports of Olivia, Noah, Shayne, and Courtney following strangers to an unmarked location. 

It was weird for Keith. It had been three years since they had brought in a new member. Damien may be their newest addition, but he accidentally fell into their laps. It was a happy accident, but it was an accident nonetheless. Courtney had also been able to just follow Ian to SMOSH in the form of a bluejay after they met in the local coffee shop. She had left everything behind and had only been in town for a few days. Noah was the last person that they had to go and get from a safe place and that was five years ago. Most of them — Keith included — had heard rumors of SMOSH and went looking for it. They had finally made it to the small town and waited for a sign. Since they had lived in an apartment or motel for a couple of months before catching Ian or Anthony’s attention, they couldn’t just up and leave. Mari, Wes, and Shayne were the exceptions. They had wandered into town and had expected to leave after a week or two. Luckily, they had caught people’s attention and they were brought in. 

Keith had never been the one to go get the strangers; it had always been Joven and Ian. Keith guessed there were special circumstances that made Ian stay behind. He worried briefly that one of them was deathly dangerous, however he shook the thought away quickly. If Ian thought any of them would hurt them, he wouldn’t bring them in. 

Joven held a hand in the air, a little to the left of where Keith actually was. Keith smirked lightly and took Joven’s hand. In the blink of an eye, they were no longer in the house. Now, Keith stood in front of a small, dingy house. It was one of the rentals that were on the other side of town. No one lived in them unless they were desperate. It might have been a safe bet that they were mostly occupied by Anomalies that drifted through. 

Joven didn’t say anything and went over to the door. He left enough space for Keith to stand next to him and knocked on the door three times. Not a second had passed when the door opened. A burly man with brown hair and a beard stood in the doorway. His eyes lit up at the sight of Joven.

“I was starting to think you weren’t coming,” he sighed. Relief was clear from the way his shoulders sagged. “Come on in.”

The man stood back and held the door open. Joven hesitated, and Keith took it as his chance to go inside. He squeezed past the two, holding breath so that he wasn’t heard. He was in a dingy kitchen. The light cast by the overhead light was a deep yellow, making the cream colored walls look like it was covered in swatches of caramel and butter. There was a small oven and fridge. The ceiling fan squealed as it worked hard to do its job, although the room didn’t feel any cooler than it did outside. There was a small amount of counter space. The trash can was full of paper plates and plastic cups, but that was the only other thing in the room.

The door closed and Joven looked around the place. He frowned, but didn’t say anything. 

“Matt!” Keith heard from the other room. “Everyone’s in here.”

The man who let them in, led Joven to the other room. Keith followed quietly, still hidden. The state of this room was only a little different from the kitchen. There was furniture; a small couch sat against the wall and there was a bean bag chair. There was a small window, but the blinds were pulled down. The light wasn’t as yellow, but this one was flickering ever so gently.

There were two women and a man; all around the same age as Keith, give or take. All three of them had brown hair, although the man’s was a lighter brown. One of the women was smiling brightly at Joven.

“Hi,” she said. “I’m Kimmy.”

She stuck out a hand. 

“Oh,” Joven piped, taking Kimmy’s hand. “Uh, nice to meet you. That’s a nice handshake!”

To the strangers, he probably seemed awkward and polite. And while Joven was typically an awkward man, he was using it to his advantage. He wanted to let them think that they had more control. Joven wanted to wait as long as he could to make sure he wasn’t making a mistake by bringing the strangers into their home. If they were going to break character, they would do it when a person that was on their own had their back turned. 

“Thanks,” Kimmy laughed. She gestured to the other two. “That’s Sarah, and that’s Tommy.”

They moved forward and shook Joven’s hand. 

“Nice to meet you,” Joven said in a flustered sort of voice. He made a point of turning their backs to them while he looked around the place. “Well, this is a nice place.”

“A dream,” Tommy snorted.

They were quiet as Joven turned back around. Keith hadn’t noticed anything suspicious and Joven seemed to relax slightly. 

“Are you all ready?” Joven asked them.

“I thought another person was coming,” Sarah said, frowning. “Aren’t we waiting for them?”

Matt looked at Joven too. Joven sighed.

“All right, Keith,” he said.

Keith let his facade melt away and everyone’s eyes snapped to meet him. Matt stepped back a few steps.

“Woah,” Kimmy squeaked, a smile making its way onto her face. “That’s so cool!”

Keith couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his own face.

“Thanks,” he said. He held a hand up in a mockery of a wave. “I’m Keith.”

Joven clapped to get everyone’s attention.

“Do you have to grab anything?” he asked. “We should get going.”

The other four mumbled as they scattered to grab anything they had with them. Kimmy was the only one that actually had anything substantial. She had a large book bag while the rest of them carried a few articles of clothing and toothbrushes. 

Joven nodded when they all returned with their things. He offered a hand to Keith, who took it instantly.

“You’ll need to hold onto someone,” Joven explained when the other four looked hesitant. “We can’t just walk through town.”

Tommy and Kimmy carefully walked towards them. Keith gripped onto Tommy’s shoulder, glancing behind him at Sarah and Matt. They still didn’t move, even when Kimmy grabbed Joven’s other hand. 

“We really should get going,” Keith said. “The others are expecting us.”

Sarah and Matt didn’t say a word as they walked to them. Sarah took Kimmy’s offered hand while Matt held onto Tommy’s other shoulder. 

Keith took a final glance around the place before it disappeared. Once again, they were back at the SMOSH headquarters. Ian was waiting for them by the stairs. He smiled when they all looked up. 

“Welcome to SMOSH,” he said, stepping closer. “I’m Ian. We’re having a meeting in a minute. You all can leave your things on the stairs for now.”

The four newcomers gently laid their things down and followed Joven. Ian motioned to Keith and he lagged behind. 

“How’d they look?” he asked quietly.

Keith glanced at their retreating backs before answering.

“They didn’t attack Joven,” he answered. “Matt fidgeted most of the time, but he never got close or anything.”

Ian hummed. 

“All right,” he sighed after a moment. “Let’s go.”

Keith walked through the hall and to the kitchen. A few stragglers were waiting outside of the meeting room. Keith saw Damien standing rigidly with his arms crossed. His eyes were wide and he was putting most of his weight on the balls of his feet. When they entered the kitchen, Damien narrowed his eyes at Ian. The leader held up his hand when Damien opened his mouth. 

“We’ll talk after introductions.”

Ian didn’t wait for Damien to agree before walking past him. Damien glanced at Keith. His jaw clenched and he followed Ian. Keith was the last one to enter the meeting room. He sat in between Noah and Lasercorn.

Introductions went as they always have. Ian introduced himself first. He gave them a run down of who he was and gave them a vague description of what SMOSH was. They went down the line; Joven, Mari, Joe, Lasercorn, Keith, Noah, Courtney, Olivia, Shayne, Damien, and Wes. Damien barely looked at anyone except for Matt. His eyes were narrowed slightly and he twitched at every move Matt made. 

“I’m Matt Raub. I’m not an Anomaly,” Keith noticed everyone tensed at that. They had never taken in a regular person. Not even when an Anomaly stayed overnight with a friend. Matt Raub hurried on. “But I support them.”

Tommy cleared his throat slightly and he sent Matt a sideways glance. Was there more to Matt than what meets the eye? Keith didn’t think much of it as Tommy began to talk.

“Tommy,” he said, waving to the group. “I can see people’s memories. I have to be touching them… It doesn’t happen every time either.”

“Is it, like, any kind of memory?” Noah asked.

“Emotional ones,” Tommy said. “The clearer, the more likely I am to see it.”

There were murmurs of reverence around the table. Tommy tried to act cool, but a hint of a blush crept across his cheeks. He tilted his chin pridefully and leaned back in his chair.

Sarah was next.

“I’m Sarah Whittle. I can feel other people’s emotions.” 

There was a rush of whispered awe at her words. Sarah smiled.

“I ignore it most of the time unless they’re, like, super strong,” she said. “I can manipulate them too, but I don’t really do it much. I’ve stopped a couple of fights, but nothing more than that.”

Then, finally, but not least, Kimmy spoke to the group. 

“Hi, everyone,” Kimmy said brightly. “I’m also just a regular person. Well, we think… I’ve felt weird a couple of times, but Sarah says that I’m older than most Anomalies when they discover their power. Either way, I’m happy to be here. I just want to say that I won’t tell anyone about you guys. I actually heard about SMOSH a few months back, so technically, I’m why we’re here.”

A large smile graced her face as she finished. Everyone else — except Damien, who was still watching Matt like a hawk — grinned too. Ian cleared his throat and they all looked at him.

“We’re glad that you can join us,” he said. “I think that’s all for introductions. Noah,” Ian waited for the younger man to turn. “I’d appreciate it if you could take them on a tour around the place. Afterwards, you can take them to my office.”

Noah nodded and stood up. The rest of the group stood up and shuffled out of the meeting room. Keith clapped Noah’s shoulder as a quick goodbye, making Noah chuckle.

“See ya,” Noah muttered. 

“See you later,” Keith responded, leaving the meeting room.


	21. I Know a Thing or Two

**Noah**

The tour was nothing special. It did give Noah a sense of the newcomers’ personalities, and he actually liked them. They were all pretty enthusiastic to be there and gave off good vibes. Matt was sort of a mystery. He joked around with everyone, but he also worked to keep himself out of the spotlight. Noah supposed it was because he wasn’t an Anomaly. He would feel weird if he didn’t share a characteristic that everyone else had. 

They did run into a sort of dilemma. Noah showed them where the vacant rooms are and he noticed that there weren’t enough. There are only two vacant rooms and four new members in need of a bed. Hopefully, Ian had thought of something. That, or a few people were going to have to share a room. 

Like Ian had told him to do, Noah brought the four to the second floor after they were done touring the fourth. A yelp suddenly tore itself from Noah’s mouth when he slipped on the stairs. Someone reached out and grabbed his bicep to keep him on his feet. The grip — Tommy’s, Noah noticed — was harsh for a moment before loosening. 

“It must have been hard to leave like that,” Tommy whispered.

Noah spun around and stared at the other man. It wasn’t a secret — what made Noah leave his home at the age of eighteen. However, he hadn’t thought about it in a long time. 

Tommy smiled sheepishly.

“It was really brave of you,” he said.

Noah swallowed and, after a moment, nodded. He continued to walk to Ian’s office without another word. He heard a sharp  _ thwack _ and a soft “ow”.

It wasn’t a sore subject. Noah had left in his senior year of high school. He had been one of the newest targets of the school’s resident bullies on a Wednesday afternoon in April. All he remembered of the incident was being on the ground surrounded by four gruff-looking figures and then being on the tiled floor of the school a second later. He had known that something like that was bound to happen; Noah just wished that it had waited until he had finished high school. So, after he was seen disappearing through a portal by four students and teachers, he left. 

His family had begged for him to stay, but Noah couldn’t do that. Three other people, including a teacher, had disappeared that year. He had a pretty good idea as to why, and Noah knew that the bullies would blab about what they saw. He had to leave. His friend at the time, another Anomaly, had told him about rumors he heard about a group that would take care of him. He had followed the rumors to Jonestown and had spent three weeks in the dingy motel before Anthony and Ian found him. 

Noah’s thoughts didn’t disperse when they reached Ian’s office. His hand raised automatically and knocked three times. 

“That’s our code,” Noah said absently. “Three times to make sure we know it’s another SMOSH member. If it’s not sharp like that, don’t open the door.”

The door opened and Ian was in front of them. The older man looked a little ruffled, but he was smiling. He looked at Noah curiously.

“Everything all right, Noah?”

“Yeah,” Noah murmured. “There’s just something I need to do, if I can.”

Noah purposely shoved the thought of making a phone call into the front of his mind. Ian nodded after a second. 

“Sure,” he shrugged. “Go ahead. Be careful.”

Noah smiled and stepped out of the way, waving. 

“Bye, Noah,” Kimmy said. “See you later!”

“Later.”

Noah left the others and practically ran down the stairs. He hadn’t even thought about calling his family in several months. Now that he had the idea in his head, he wanted to act on it.

On the tenth step, Noah waved his hand and portal appeared in front of him. Without any hesitation, Noah stepped into it and visualized the alley behind the coffee shop in town. He took another step confidently and his foot landed on dark concrete. The portal disappeared after another step and Noah looked around. There was no one else, luckily, and Noah made his way out of the alley. It was a risky move — there could’ve been a worker taking out the trash — but he really didn’t want to drive and park a car to use a payphone. 

Noah had a phone, but he never used it to call his family. He didn’t want the Shadow Agents to trace the call if they tapped anything. His parents always said that they didn’t ever see agents, but Noah had learned that most people don’t see them if they don’t want to be seen. 

He walked into the busy cafe, pushing past a group that was leaving. He smiled at the man behind the cash register and made his way to the back. The phone sat on the back wall, thankfully unused at the moment. He took out a few quarters and slid them in. Noah leaned against the wall as he dialed the number. He was surprised by the voice that picked up.

“Grossman residence.” 

“Hey, Justin,” Noah said. 

“Noah!” Justin’s voice rose with excitement.

“How’s Pluto?” Noah asked, glancing around the cafe.

“Pluto? Oh, he’s good. Whines from time to time.”

There weren’t any Shadow Agents around to Justin’s knowledge. His family came up with the code after a few months of Noah being on the run.

“Well, there are still some treats in the cupboard. That should help,” Noah smiled. 

“Missed you little bro,” Justin murmured from the other end. 

“Missed you too,” Noah said. He took a deep breath as he continued the long overdue conversation. 

⤔

**Damien**

He didn’t wait for his friends to rise from the table as he hopped up from his seat. Damien followed after Ian as he left the meeting room. The fear that coursed through him was rivaled only by the anger he felt. 

Ian didn’t say anything as he jogged up to his office. Once on the second floor, Damien quickened his pace to catch up to Ian. He opened the door to his office and held the door open for Damien. He went over and sat in the chair that he occupied weeks before. Ian sighed and sat down behind his desk.

“What is it, Damien?”

“Matt,” Damien said instantly. “He’s a guard for the Shadow Agency. He was in Orion a few years ago.”

“I know.”

“He was transferred a —” Damien cut himself off. He blinked, continuing incredulously. “You know?”

Ian nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve known for about three weeks.”

Damien opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He cleared his throat and tried again.

“Then you should know that you can’t trust him,” Damien commented.

“We can,” Ian said confidently.

“No,” Damien growled. “You can’t. You don’t know them like I do. You can’t trust him.”

Ian regarded Damien for a moment. He leaned forward, gaze intense.

“I know what I’m doing. If he wanted to hurt us, I would know.”

Ian tapped his temple twice before setting his hand down. Damien frowned.

“You said you don’t like looking into people’s heads.”

“I don’t like it,” Ian agreed. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t know when to do it.”

“I don’t trust him,” Damien said.

“You don’t need to,” the other man stated. “I need you to trust me and everyone else. If he does anything we don’t like, we’ll handle it.”

Damien stared into Ian’s eyes, looking for any sign of deception. He didn’t see anything to worry over, so Damien sat up straighter. He broke eye contact and nodded. Ian sighed in relief.

“I know what I’m doing, Damien,” Ian said calmly. 

Damien only nodded and stood up. He left the office without another word. 

His worries didn’t ease as he walked to his room. He didn’t like that Matt Raub had entered their home. He was acting as if he had regretted everything he had done for the government, but there was no way that he did. Damien didn’t think that anyone that worked in any of the facilities could feel anything, let alone remorse. He trusted Ian and everyone else at SMOSH, but he had to wonder what Ian was getting out of it. There had to be something. Surely, Ian wouldn’t take the chance of bringing in an enemy for no reason. Just because he could read minds doesn’t mean he didn’t miss something. Matt could have hidden something somehow…

His room was a messier than he had remembered. Papers were scattered in organized piles over the desk, table, and chair. Bits of string and discarded statements littered the floor. The evidence board wouldn’t have made sense to anyone other than Damien. String criss-crossed over pictures and news articles.

Damien settled onto his bed with a sigh. He shifted gears and focused on the thing in front of him. He could worry about Matt’s motive later.

There had been another murder; an eleven year old named Amanda Underhill. It was the same as the other cases. She was found in her bed on the morning of the 17th with three flowers clasped in her hands. Unlike Fuller’s murder, there was no sign of a struggle. 

A picked lock would explain the lack of a forced entry, but there was no evidence and most of the houses had a deadbolt, so picking the lock would have done very little. The Underhills lived on the fourth floor of an apartment building and the front door was still locked the next morning. The security camera showed nothing out of the ordinary and no one stopped in front of their door in the middle of the night. It was as if the killer was a ghost. 

Damien sighed, running a hand through his hair. If only he could see the police reports. They might help him dismiss some of his theories or, maybe, give him a clue that he had missed. He closed his eyes and massaged his temples. 

“Think, Damien,” he muttered to himself. 

Maybe he needed to look at this from a different angle. What would he do? The thought made him feel ill. There was no way Damien would ever do something like this. He didn’t have the urge to do anything as awful as murder.

But he has. Accidentally, but Damien has killed a person before. He stood up, staring at the murder board. 

“I wouldn’t kill anyone,” Damien said. He didn’t care if he spoke to himself… he was onto something. “But Forrestor would make Sixteen do it.”

Damien looked at his handwritten notes carefully. If Forrestor asked him how he would commit the murders, how would Sixteen answer? Damien held in a small wince as the face of the scientist answered his mind.

Sixteen, Damien thought to himself, would do it in the quietest way possible. He wouldn’t break anything when he didn’t need to... Damien didn’t need to. His head snapped back as he figured it out. 

“Oh my,” he said to himself, smacking his forehead. “I’m an idiot.”

He went over, shoved his feet into his shoes and opened the bedroom door. He didn’t wait and started down the hallway. His awareness caught the still open door and closed it softly as he began his descent down the stairs. He bolted to the ground floor and made his way to the front door. It had a deadbolt and Damien smiled.

“What’re you doing?” Shayne asked. 

He had just come out of the kitchen with Courtney beside him. Damien glanced up briefly before he began fiddling with the lock, testing its strength. 

“I’ve figured something out,” Damien said absently. 

“With the serial killer?” Courtney asked excitedly.

“What’s this about a serial killer?” Kimmy hopped down the rest of the stairs, stopping in front of them. “Please don’t tell me that you are one.”

Damien gave her an amused smile. Although, his nerves spiked since he wasn’t expecting an audience.

“No,” he said. “I’ve been looking into the Shadow Killer.”

“Oh, the one in the news?” Kimmy asked. Her eyes lit up. “Why is everything named after a shadow? They’re not the only creepy things that exist.”

“That’s a good point actually,” Courtney agreed. “You would think people would be more creative.”

“That,” Damien said, “I concede. However, to answer the question you are all thinking —” Damien opened the door and beckoned them outside, “ — I am testing the deadbolt. I was thinking what I would do if I were the murderer.”

“Not healthy,” Shayne quipped.

“But helpful,” Damien said with a grin. 

He leaned against the door and felt the energy around the door. Damien effortlessly pushed through the buzz in the slit beneath the bottom of the door and the floor. He reached up and flipped the bolt. From outside, they all heard the lock click into place. Damien looked at all of them and smiled proudly.

“I, meaning Damien Haas, would never think about hurting someone if it could be avoided. However,” Damien said softly, “If I, as Sixteen, were forced to do something, I would be able to do this.” There was another click as Damien unlocked the door. “It has to be an Anomaly.”

They all looked at him in amazement. Shayne hummed thoughtfully after a moment. He looked between Damien and the door.

“But what if they can’t do what you can,” he asked. “What if normal Telekinetics can’t open a door from the other side.”

“Normal?” Kimmy asked.

“I’m a little different than other Telekinetics.”

“How?”

Damien glanced at Shayne, uncomfortable with the topic.

“Another time,” Damien said. “I’ll explain later. For now, I want to focus on this.”

Kimmy got the hint and didn’t push further. She only smiled encouragingly and let him think.

“If it weren’t an Anomaly,” Damien said after a moment, “then they would have to break a window or pick the lock. Most houses had deadbolts, hence my little show here, and there was no evidence of a breakin. No glass broken and door intact. So, I think we can rule out normal people from the suspect list. They aren’t giving themselves enough time to become close to the families they attack, so it’s not likely they know them.”

“What about the most recent case?” Courtney asked. “They lived on the fourth floor.”

“And no one was on the security footage all night,” Damien said. “So, the only option left is a window.”

“Do you think it’s someone like you?” Kimmy asked. “A Telekinetic?”

Damien shrugged. 

“For all of the other cases,” Damien said, staring at the house, “It could have been someone who could walk through walls or something like that. But to get up to a window forty feet up? Only a few Anomalies could do that.”

“Can you do that?” Shayne asked.

“I’ve never tried,” Damien said.

“We can try,” Courtney said. “I’m on the fourth floor.”

“Are you sure?” Damien asked, looking at Courtney. 

She shrugged.

“Yeah, why not? Do you want me to lock the window?”

“Mr. Underhill said he didn’t keep the windows locked,” Damien remembered.

Courtney nodded and pointed to her room. Damien sighed and rolled his shoulders to relax himself. He focused and felt the air around him seize. A second later, he was off of the ground. Damien heard Kimmy gasp excitedly and he couldn’t stop the smile from forming. He really liked her enthusiasm. 

It only took a moment for him to reach Courtney’s window. There was a small problem; there wasn’t any way for a person to open the window from the outside. No way to grip it or anything, which solidified Damien’s theory. He opened it no problem with barely a thought and gripped onto the railing. He pulled himself over and into the woman’s room. He was careful not to look around and turned to look down at them.

“Can you bring me up there?” Courtney yelled up. “There could’ve been more than one person, right?”

Damien didn’t know how likely it was, but he pulled her up anyway. It was better to be thorough than wrong. Courtney squealed as she was held in the air. Damien grabbed her hand and tugged her into the room. 

“You’re not even breaking a sweat!” Courtney laughed.

“I’ve been doing harder things for years,” he said. He looked down at the other two still on the ground. “I think I’ve figured something out Watson!”

“Now all we need is who, Holmes!” Shayne called, laughing.

Damien leaned against the railing. Who indeed… and why.


	22. Stolen and Hidden from Sight

**Joven**

It was almost ten at night by the time he could make his way to the meeting room. After the excitement of today, everyone had gone to bed early (earlier than normal at least), but Joven still had some work to do with Ian. He was the last one to arrive at the table; Ian, Joe, Mari, and Matt Raub sitting quietly.

“Sorry that I’m late,” Joven murmured, taking his seat next to Mari. 

“That’s okay,” Ian said. “Are we ready?”

No one opposed and Ian looked serious once more. Joven was really starting to hate that look on his friend. It wasn’t that Ian was never serious, but he had always been more relaxed. Joven kind of wished he could steal Ian’s power for a second to see what’s going on in his head.

“Okay,” Ian started. “Before I ask any questions, Mari,” Ian paused, waiting for the woman to look at him. “There’s something you need to know.”

Mari furrowed her eyebrows and leaned forward minutely. 

“What?”

Ian paused, pensive. Joven understood; he wouldn’t want to spring such a surprise on her.

“Matt is —”

“Was,” Matt corrected.

“— Was a guard for Andromeda Facility,” Ian continued.

“WHAT!” Mari shouted, her eyes wide. “And you let him in here?”

Ian barely concealed the flinch at Mari’s tone. Joven decided to keep his mouth shut as Mari zeroed in on the leader.

“We made an agreement,” Ian explained.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Matt whispered. His tone was brave, although Joven noticed that he kept his eyes away from Mari.

“That’s what a spy would say,” Mari grumbled.

“Mari,” Ian said. “He’s not a spy for the Shadow Agency.”

“He could be tricking you,” Mari argued.

“He’s not,” Ian said with a cold glint in his eye. 

Joven shifted nervously. He knew what that look meant. Ian doesn’t like poking around people’s thoughts, but he was an incredibly gifted mind reader. He wasn’t like Edward from Twilight; he didn’t only get surface thoughts about a boy wanting to ask a girl to prom. 

Mari met Ian’s eyes for a second, suspicion clear in her gaze. Joven sighed.

“Tell her what you told me,” he said.

Mari’s head snapped to him. 

“You knew?”

“Ah… Well… No… We spoke after introductions,” Joven stuttered out the lie.

“Smooth,” Joe said — his first word since Joven sat down.

“I try my best,” he muttered.

“Look, Mari,” Matt cut in before anyone else could say anything. Mari narrowed her eyes. “I’ve been working at Andromeda for three years. I was contracted when I was twenty-three and I took the job because I didn’t have anything else going for me.”

“You never once thought that what happens in those facilities is wrong?” Mari said.

“I never agreed with it,” Matt insisted. “I didn’t like it, but it’s not like you can just leave. You either continue to work there or they throw you in prison for treason. They make up evidence and everything, there’s no real trial! I’ve seen it happen! So, I stayed.”

“That doesn’t change —”

“I didn’t say it did,” Matt cut Mari off. “I’m not proud of what I did, but I tried my best. I blocked it out, yes, but I wasn’t one of the guards that hurt the Anomalies. I even prevented a few hospital visits.”

“Why leave now?”

“I…” Matt paused, thinking hard. “Sarah and Tommy arrived two weeks after they were pronounced missing. Another employee was in charge of getting them to their room. It was one of the bullies, and Sarah already had a big bruise on her face. I knew it would get bad once they reached their room, so I stepped in. I told them Archer, the scientist, wanted to meet with him. He left and I took them to their room. Tommy must have touched me and he saw a memory. It was about my brother….

“We talked about our families and I realized that I needed to do something. I had become so desensitized to it all — I forgot that these people had friends and families. So, I decided to get them out of there.”

“How did you get out?” Mari asked, warmer than before.

“A week later, we learned that both of them were going to be moved to Orion. I was being shipped with them to make sure the transfer went smoothly.”

“That’s why we went to Orion,” Mari exclaimed, looking at Ian. “You wanted us there to help them get to us.”

Ian nodded, but it was stiff.

“They were going to break away from the group and find you. Obviously, that didn’t happen.”

“But we managed to escape,” Matt said. “We met Kimmy while we were stopped somewhere in Orange County. It was some little town between cities. She recognized Sarah and Tommy from the news and offered us a place to stay after they explained what happened. She was the one to tell us about your group. A kid she babysat has an aunt that heard about you guys. So, Kimmy joined us and we were led here.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Mari nodded and crossed her arms. She didn’t say anything, but sent Ian a pointed look and sat back.

“All right,” Ian said, clapping once. “Now that’s out of the way, there’s another reason behind this meeting. Matt worked at Andromeda, but before that, he worked in a pretty high position in Orion. We’re giving him a safe place to stay in exchange for information.”

“We would’ve let them stay anyway,” Mari said.

“We would’ve let Sarah, Tommy, and Kimmy stay,” Joe said with a grim smile. “We’re holding Matt’s safety over his head.”

“Just in case,” Ian added. 

Joven knew that it probably wasn’t necessary. Now that Matt had left, he wasn’t safe. The agency would do everything to make sure he couldn’t talk about what they’re doing. The only way to live his life now was to do so silently.

“What kind of information?” Joven asked. He saw Joe’s glance. “What? I tried to gossip, but Ian didn’t want me to.”

Mari sent him a smirk.

“I copied every file I could get my hands on,” Matt said. “There’s stuff about every facility and a few orders from the head of the Agency.”

Matt glanced at Ian quickly, but he didn’t say anything else. Joven set his elbows on the table, his hands clasped together. He was starting to think that there was something that Matt wasn’t telling them. Mari seemed to have a similar idea.

“Why are we meeting, Ian?” she asked. “Everyone else is bound to find out who Matt is. Why bring us in here after they’re all asleep?”

Instead of answering, Ian looked at Matt. He looked into Ian’s blue eyes for a moment before he returned his gaze to Mari.

“There’s an outpost outside of Los Angeles. It was used to monitor progress for the people inside Delphinus Facility,” Matt explained.

“Was?” Joven said.

“There were a series of attacks,” Matt said. “Anomalies found it.”

“The secret base wasn’t so secret, huh?” Mari quipped.

“After five months, they decided to move locations,” Matt continued. “But there are rumors that they were driven out before they could relocate the files. Either way, it was abandoned fourteen months ago.”

“Of course, it wasn’t in the news,” Ian chuckled.

“Wouldn’t the Anomalies have been able to take the files?” Joe asked, eyebrows furrowed. “I wouldn’t drive them out if and take nothing for the trouble.”

Matt shook his head.

“They don’t leave things just lying around. Most of the files are copied and hidden in various safes throughout the building. The copies are rewritten and put in the filing cabinets. Anything they found would’ve made no sense or completely made up.”

“I’m all for a good safety net, but that just seems complicated,” Mari laughed.

“They weren’t going to take any chances with Delphinus,” Matt said.

“What is Delphinus?” Joven asked.

At this question, Ian leaned forward eagerly. Matt looked around at them all.

“I don’t know much about it,” he admitted after a moment. “I haven’t read the reports on it yet; I only know what I could get from working in Orion. Every once in a while, the scientists pick an Anomaly or two to challenge Thing One and Thing Two. It’s not necessarily that they’re the most powerful, but it’s hard to get close enough to hit them. Thing One and Two are Anomalies from Delphinus. They’re a benchmark for the people in Orion; if they can beat them, or even come close, they’ll be moved from Orion to Delphinus.”

He paused, his face solemn. His eyes were dark from memories that Joven knew he wished he could forget.

“What happens when an Anomaly goes to Delphinus?” Mari inquired.

She had gone rigid during Matt’s explanation. Her eyes were hard and her mouth was set in a thin line. Joven reached over and his hand over hers, patting it awkwardly. 

“Delphinus is a training facility,” Matt answered hesitantly. “They’re transferred when the scientists believe an Anomaly is ready to fight.”

“Fight?” Joe said. “In battle?”

“In a war,” Matt confirmed quietly. 

Everyone was shocked into silence. Joe and Ian looked at each other like their worst nightmare had become a reality. Mari stared at Matt, looking like she was about to faint. Joven suddenly felt sick. His hands moved to cover his chin and mouth.His leg, which he hadn’t noticed had been bouncing up and down nervously, stopped. 

“So, not only are we being hunted down and imprisoned,” Joven said, removing his hand from his face. He cleared his throat against the feeling of it tightening. “We’re being forced to fight in the army.”

“We’re put in prisons so that crazy patriots can do whatever they want,” Joe said. It wasn’t a question. 

Wordlessly, Matt nodded.

“Like Afghanistan?” Mari whispered.

Matt shrugged.

“We don’t know,” Ian said, looking at Matt. “There aren’t enough to form a single troop. It could be a contingency plan. Sorry,” he added, looking away from the other man.

They were all quiet once more. Joven’s leg started to bounce and his eyes settled onto the table. They had to tell the others. They couldn’t keep this from them. 

“I don’t know if there is anything we  _ can _ do,” Ian sighed suddenly.

He looked at Joe sadly, a hand running through his hair. 

“We have to try something,” Joe said. “This is —”

“Something I suspected,” Ian interrupted. “The only way to take down Delphinus is to take down the agency. We don’t have the numbers, or the information, to tear it down.”

“Then let's go to the hideout,” Mari said. 

Ian immediately shook his head. 

“Why not?” Mari snapped. “If there’s a way to shut down the agency, we have to take it. There could be stuff in that hideout that could help us.” 

“We can’t take that risk,” Ian said. “After the last mission —”

“We’re Anomalies hiding from the Shadow Agency,” Joe stated. “We’re always at risk. Don’t pretend like you don’t want to take this chance. We wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want to have someone go there.”

Ian was quiet for a minute. Joven could see the conflict in his mind.

“This is an abandoned building,” Joven said. “Not a high-security base. We’ll be in and out.”

_ And we’ll be smarter, _ Joven thought.  _ Only experienced people will go. Not to, you know, insult everyone else. _

Ian looked at him, blue eyes blazing. Ian could see the pride and determination in them.

“Fine,” Ian whispered. “Joven, Mari, and Lasercorn. Where is it?”

“Texas,” Matt replied.

“We’ll have to drive,” Joven said. “I can’t teleport that far.”

“You have two days to prepare,” Ian nodded. “I’ll tell Laser in the morning.”

Everyone went quiet again. Ian didn’t look happy at the idea, but Joven knew he would be easy to sway. Joe was right; Ian wouldn’t have had Matt tell them about the hideout if he didn’t want to check it out.

⤔

**Ian**

Everyone except Ian and Matt had gone to bed after the meeting. After the other three left, Matt wordlessly handed Ian a few folders before leaving. Ian was a little scared to look inside, but he had requested these reports. When he finally did open them, he sighed dismally. His heart sank with each word he read.

_ S.M.O.S.H (Secret Meeting of Super Humans) _

_ Known Members: Ian Hecox (see file), Anthony Padilla (deceased) (see file) _

_ Estimated Number of Members: Eleven _

_ S.M.O.S.H is a group of Anomalies led by Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla. The exact number of members is unknown. Their last hideout was located in Sacramento, California. They have since moved locations since 2018, however, it is assumed they are still in California.  _

_ In 2018, the Agency had followed a lead to their base. There was an altercation and both Hecox and Padilla had been found. There were more members than the retrieval team had planned for and were taken by surprise. They had managed to apprehend Padilla, however, he did not comply with their orders. Padilla tried to use an illusion to escape, however, he was unable to do so. He continued to refuse to comply and got violent. Padilla sustained several injuries and died. _

Ian sighed heavily. At least the agency didn’t know who else was in the group. It meant that they were safe as long as an agent didn’t see Ian’s face. He wouldn’t know what to do if the others were recognized while they were in town. 

It was hard to read about Anthony. Sure, time had passed and he had gotten used to emptiness that had been left there, but it was difficult sometimes. Ian would briefly forget that his friend wasn’t there to help him. He would look up and it was Joe, not Anthony. 

Joe was a great guy. He did a great job helping Ian and everyone else. He stepped up when Ian needed help leading the group. But that didn’t stop Ian from being startled to see him after a long night of wallowing in memories. 

Ian knew there wasn’t much he could’ve done. He wasn’t a useful person in a fight. Sure, he knew how to fight, but he couldn't do much against people with weapons. His ability wasn’t like Mari’s, Lasercorn, Wes’s, or even Noah’s. He didn’t have much of an advantage in combat. He knew what his opponent would do, but that didn’t stop bullets. Even Anthony was a better fighter than Ian.

That night, he was practically useless. He knew a second too late that there were enemies in their home. He wasn’t able to get a hit in between two agents if he didn’t want to be captured. He was lucky that Lasercorn appeared when he did. He had tried to reach Anthony, but the others wouldn’t let him. They still had to fight off the agents in the house.

No, it wasn’t Ian’s fault, but that didn’t mean he didn’t lay awake at night swimming in guilt.


	23. Just Past the Tip of My Tongue

**Damien**

He gasped for air as he jolted out into the real world. One of his hands found his face and he pressed it over his eyes. The darkness behind his eyelids swam and ghosts of his recent past faded in. He watched as hazy encounters with guards, scientists, and government officials played for him. His fear numbed slightly as he thought of where he really was.

Damien was used to the nightmares, but he wished they could leave him be. They were always worse after his training days with Joe. It seemed like they sucked any energy he had left from the week. This was, as he learned, fantastic and horrible at the same time. Having no energy meant he could actually sleep. He could grab a few hours more than he normally did. However, it meant he had no way to fight off the dreams. He never thought that he had any control over his dreams, but apparently he did. He could make sure they weren’t too bad at least. Well, that’s what he decided on anyways.

Damien sighed and wiggled out of the blankets. He pressed his fingers over his eyes lightly before letting his hand fall onto the mattress. It was another bright day without a cloud in the sky. Maybe today would be a good day to help Wes make pancakes or something. He should eat at least before he began working on his obsession. 

And it really wasn an obsession now. Damien knew he was so close to connecting all the dots. The tip of his tongue itched in anticipation. He was ready to call it out any day now.

He sighed again and took his time standing up. He was careful to keep his eyes off of the evidence board as he got ready for the day. He showered and got dressed in silence, letting the topic of his nightmares sink into the recesses of his mind. Once the curtains were drawn back to let light in, he was ready to leave his room.

The sound of chatter could be heard from the floor above. Damien could hear Courtney and Olivia laughing at something with… Sarah, Damien determined. He got to the staircase just as the woman reached the third-floor landing. At the sight of him, the woman smiled at him and waited so that they could walk down together.

“Good morning, Damimen,” Courtney sang.

“Good morning,” he grinned back.

He doesn’t know when this nickname cropped up, but he’s honestly not bothered by it. Mostly because Courtney is the only one who calls him that. 

Ever since Damien had figured out that the Shadow Killer is an Anomaly, Courtney has been asking him questions every evening. It’s become part of their routine. She would sit with him in his room while he bounced theories off of her. It was a support system Damien never expected, but he was grateful for it.

The four of them wandered into the kitchen, where the smell of something burning greeted them. 

“My pancakes!” Wes cried, rushing over to the stove. “No! They’re burned.”

Keith walked over to look.

“I’ll eat it,” he said, reaching towards the pan.

Mari, who was passing, grabbed his hand and pulled it away.

“Keith!” she laughed loudly, although there was panic in the word. 

Keith laughed and a teasing grin lit up his face. 

Damien smiled fondly at the scene. He wondered if this is what having a big family was like. Sure, he had his parents and an older sister while he was growing up, but he wasn’t as close to them as he liked. He was close to his sister once, but when he discovered that he had powers, they grew apart. He didn’t want her to think she was a freak.

But here.... Everyone treated each other with respect. They teased each other and messed around, but they cared about each other. They wanted to know how their days were going and wanted to help if they ever felt down. Over the past two months, Damien had felt safer than he ever had. He enjoyed spending time with them in a way he rarely did when he was forced to hang out with people as a kid.

“Damien, do you want one?” Wes called over his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Damien answered happily. “That’d be great, thanks.”

He took the plate from the taller man and went to sit down next to Courtney. She asked him how he slept and he shrugged. Olivia, Tommy, Noah, and Keith joined them shortly. They conversed about what they were planning to do for the day as they ate.

About half an hour later, Mari, Joven, and Lasercorn came back into the kitchen and started hugging people. Apparently, they were taking a short road trip. They said they had a tip about Anomalies over in Texas and were checking it out. Damien offered them well wishes and watched them leave with a wave and smiles.

“Road trip!” he heard Lasercorn shout from the front door.

Damien sat back in his chair, enjoying the buzz of life around him. He let everything going on around him wash over him as he thought back on his nightmares. 

They weren’t normal — they were more jarring than terrifying the more he thought about them. They were based on memories that he actually had, not made up scenarios. A lot of them were when the guards were in a bad mood or when Forrestor’s experiment was unsuccessful. 

One of them, however, was truly awful. He was back home and he thought no one else was around. So, he practiced his abilities while no one was able to walk in on him. He heard someone walking up behind him and had just managed to set down the chair he had lifted into the air. He had turned to see the angry face of his father. 

Damien wasn’t sure if that was a memory or not; he was still pretty hazy on that part of his life. Maybe, it was best if he didn’t really know. It was probably better if he lived in the present and didn’t seek out his most traumatic experiences.

His focus went back to the world and he inhaled deeply. At some point, he had begun to play with a spoon that had been left at the table. It revolved slowly in the air in front of him. Kimmy, who had joined their group at some point, stared at it. 

It surprised him slightly, that she had such an innocent interest in his ability. He had only ever known the damaging pressure the scientists put on him so that they could learn. Now, Damien didn’t feel obligated to display his full range of potential. He only needed to do something to make her smile excitedly. Damien could do that. 

His eyes flicked to the spoon and then to the group. He let his awareness wander slowly towards the spoon, the sensation of it almost cold as it interrupted the energy around it. He felt around the edge tentatively and added a little pressure to one end. 

He heard Kimmy gasp and fought to keep in a smile. 

Damien stopped bending the utensil in half and turned in slightly in the air. Once he found a new grip, he pushed into opposite sides of the spoon. It started to twist like ribbon. 

Quite suddenly, a voice popped into his head.

“ _ No, Sixteen _ !  _ I don’t want you to bend it like you’re in one of those psychic movies _ .  _ Twist it _ !  _ Twist it _ !” 

It was something he had been through years ago. Sometimes, Damien would go through an experiment with another scientist. Damien didn’t quite understand why, but it happened less and less as he got older.

“ _ Yes, Dr. Udall. _ ”

A lightning strike went off in Damien’s head. The spoon dropped to the floor in his shock.

“Udall,” he muttered to himself.

“Damien?” Olivia said. 

“Udall,” he repeated.

Something clicked in his head — he had to make to make sure —

Damien glanced at Courtney before getting out of his chair. He looked around and spotted Matt Raub walking down the hallway, towards the stairs. He didn’t say anything as he left the table and followed after him. Two pairs of footsteps followed him, but he didn’t look behind him. 

“Matt!” he called.

The other man stopped on the second stair, peering at him uncertainly. 

“Matt, do you know the names of other Orion workers?” Damien asked hurriedly. 

Matt glanced at whoever was behind Damien and nodded.

“Yeah, I have a list,” he said. “Why?”

“I have to look at it,” Damien said. He began to jog up the stairs, he could see Courtney and Kimmy following. He gestured to the stairs. “Can I have them?”

“Ian has —” 

Damien didn’t give Matt the chance to finish as he raced to the second floor. 

IAN, he shouted in his mind as he got closer. 

Damien heard a door open and smiled to himself. He was beginning to feel giddy now. He was so close to figuring this out. The puzzle was putting itself together as he breathed. 

Ian appeared at the landing, worry on his face.

“What happened?”

“I need the list of Orion workers,” Damien said breathlessly. “I’ve just figured it out. Do you have a copy?”

Ian nodded quickly and hurried into his office. Damien only had to count to three before Ian was back with papers clutched in his hand. He gave them to Damien, but he didn’t look as excited as Damien was. His gaze was uncertain as he looked at the three of them. 

“Don’t worry about giving them back,” Ian said. “I have copies.”

“Thank you!” Damien called as he set off for his room. 

He heard Courtney laugh at something Ian did before running behind him. Damien got to his room and left the door open so that the women could come in. 

He set the names on his bed and went over to his stack of articles. He rifled through the articles with bated breath. Orange highlighter leaped out at him and grinned. There, on the page, read: Hannah Udall. She was the mother of Linda Udall, the ninth victim. 

“Court,” Damien said over his shoulder. “I need you to look up a name.”

There was a rustling behind him.

“Go ahead,” Courtney said.

“Hannah Udall,” he spoke as clearly as he could. He turned around so that he could read her expression. “U - d - a - l - l.”

It took a few seconds, but Courtney nodded. 

“She’s one of the… researchers?”

“Scientists,” Damien said. “They call themselves researchers to make it easier for them to receive funding. Now, uh,” Damien flipped to another article. “Kevin Allen.”

A beat. 

“Guard.”

“Justin Yallop.”

“Guard.”

“Evelyn Ried.”

“Janitor.”

They went through the entire list of names and every single one matched a guardian of a victim. Damien was beyond excited to have a crack in the case. He had spent so many sleepless nights over this and he was one step closer to the end.

“So,” Kimmy interrupted politely. “What does this mean?”

Damien turned to her, his mind going a million miles a second.

“The Shadow Killer is an Anomaly going after the kids of Orion workers,” he explained. “They probably knew someone that was in Orion — I don’t think anyone has escaped besides Mari and I —” Damien cut himself off, looking at the evidence board. “Oh… It means everything is important….”

Damien moved forward and stared intently at all of the information he had. 

“What?” Courtney asked, standing. 

Damien licked his lips. 

“This isn’t someone killing because it’s fun or who is taking out his anger on people who don’t matter,” Damien said. “This is someone acting on rage. It’s careful and precise. Everything is planned carefully because they’re targeting people.”

Everyone was quiet for a second.

“How do they choose their next victim?” Kimmy wondered, making Damien sigh. “Do they have a purpose or is it all random?”

“How could they know where they all live?” Courtney said, stepping beside Damien to look at the board.

Damien looked at the map where pins marked the victims’ homes. It wasn’t random, he realized.

“There always has to be two living close to each other. So,” Damien closed his eyes to allow himself to process his thoughts, “the killer probably has a list like ours, or at least a source. So, they look at the names and see if there are two that fit the requirements.”

“Do the names spell anything?” Kimmy asked.

Damien turned to her.

“Not that I can tell,” he answered, unsure.

“If I was hunting down people I hated, I would send a message,” Kimmy explained. “One that they would understand.”

Damien looked at her for a moment before shrugging.

“We can try it,” he said. “It’s not like we have any other lead.”

“Try the first letter,” Courtney chirped.

He took his notepad and a pencil and sat on his bed. He invited the other two to sit next to him. He wrote down the first letter of each first name:

_ G E T C O R H M L C S C A _

That didn’t spell anything, not even a sentence. Maybe the last names…

_ E F A R E M O Y U R A F U _

That was better because it had more vowels. So, these were more likely to spell something. Damien had a feeling that, if anything is spelled, it would be a sentence, not a word. 

“Hold on,” Kimmy said, bending closer. “I think....”

“Far,” Courtney said, pointing. 

“Well, so it’s scrambled, right,” Damien said, turning his head. “It has to be.”

“And it wouldn’t be finished,” Courtney pointed out. 

“Right,” Damien agreed.

He turned his head more as if that would help. He could make something out, but he couldn’t put it into real words. 

“Holy shit,” Kimmy breathed.

She took her finger and placed it under the first F. Slowly, she slid it in front of the first E. Then she took her other hand and placed a finger under the M and slid it over to the second E.

“Fear me,” she breathed. 

A chill ran down Damien’s spine. He looked at the rest of the message. 

“Your —”

“Fault,” Courtney said. She looked at the two of them. “The next word is going to be ‘fault’.”


	24. I Know What You Think I Don't

**Courtney**

“So, the next targets are L and T,” Courtney said, looking up from the paper. “Do we have addresses? They’re not next to the names.”

Damien took the list of names and flipped through the pages.

“Yeah, they’re tacked onto the end,” he said. “So, the first one is an L, then a T?”

“I think so,” Courtney looked over the letters again. “I can’t think of anything else.”

“There’s nothing else that would make sense,” Kimmy agreed.

Courtney held her breath as Damien’s eyes scanned the page. His eyes paused on a name and he placed a finger over it. Then, his eyes roamed down again. His eyes widened and he moved over to the board. Courtney wanted to ask who it was, but she didn’t want to interrupt his thinking. Not that she thought talking to him would work at the moment. She had learned that Damien sometimes wouldn’t notice anything that didn’t have to do with the clue he found if he was close to figuring something out.

She glanced over at Kimmy excitedly. She’s only been working on this case with Damien for about two weeks, but she had become just as invested in it as Damien was. She didn’t know why she was so interested, but she was. Courtney knew that Kimmy was just as interested as she was. It was an odd thing to bond over, but they became fast friends because of it. Well, that and Kimmy was just an amazing person.

“I got it,” Damien exclaimed suddenly. “I think… if we’re right.”

Courtney and Kimmy jumped off the bed to stand next to him. They peered down at the papers in Damien’s hand. Damien was pointing to two different names.

“Gregory Lewis,” Damien said, pointing to the name. “He lives near San Diego. About half an hour from the last victim’s house. He follows the pattern.”

Courtney looked up at the other two, giddiness rising through her. Damien, and Courtney and Kimmy once they joined, had been working so hard on this for weeks. She saw Damien grin excitedly when he caught her eye. The three choked down their excitement as Damien flipped through the papers. He was looking for something specific, his eyes jumping over the pages. The next question rang through Courtney’s mind; what do they do?

“I can’t find anything about Lewis having a kid,” Damien said, pausing in his analysis. 

“Well, we have an address,” Courtney said, motioning to the papers in Damien’s hand. “Why don’t we check it out?”

“The next attack is tomorrow,” Kimmy reasoned. “I don’t think we have time to check it out. What should we do? Do we call the authorities?”

“And tell them what?” Damien sighed. “That we know who the next target is, but we can’t tell them the evidence we have? They’re not going to do anything.”

Courtney sighed despondently. He was right. The police were of little help at the moment; they were running around like chickens with their head cut off. Someone had to do something. They couldn’t let another kid get killed for some grudge, no matter how much the grudge is deserved.

“We have to do something.” she said softly. 

Damien glanced at her, an odd mix of worry and determination in his eyes. Courtney knew he was thinking the same thing she was.

“Call a meeting,” Damien murmured. “Kimmy, can you help me with these papers?”

“Yeah,” she hissed excitedly.

Courtney left the room and practically flew down the stairs. Just before she reached the ground floor, she remembered that Ian was probably in his office. She groaned and ran back up the stairs. She reached the second floor and ran to Ian’s door. She knocked sharply as she tried to slow her breathing. Ian opened the door, a small, confused frown on his face.

“We’ve figured it out,” Courtney said. “We’re calling a meeting.”

For a second, Courtney thought Ian was going to refuse. However, Ian merely nodded and left his office. Courtney grinned at him and continued her flight to the kitchen. She really hoped that everyone was still in the kitchen so that she didn’t have to run up the stairs again. 

Ian was right behind her when they reached the kitchen. 

“Meeting!” he called out, giving Courtney a chance to catch her breath.

Everyone immediately jumped from their seat. Courtney scanned the faces in the room and internally groaned. Keith, Shayne, and Noah weren’t there.

“I’ll find them,” Ian muttered. “Make sure there’s room for the evidence board.”

Courtney nodded thankfully and followed the rest of the group into the meeting room. She walked to the other end of the room, checking the space between the table and the wall. She clicked her tongue when she saw there wasn’t enough room for the board. 

“Hey, Wes,” she called down the table.

“Yeah,” the man answered.

“Can you pull the table that way,” Courtney pointed in Wes’s direction. “We need to put something over here.”

Courtney supposed she could’ve tried pushing the table herself, but they have a man with Super Strength in the room with them. 

“Sure,” Wes replied happily. 

He got out of his chair and motioned for others to do the same. Everyone stepped away from the table as Keith, Noah, Shayne, and Ian appeared in the doorway. They all watched as Wes gripped the edge of the table and pulled. It slid easily to the left a few inches before Wes let go. 

Just then, Courtney saw the edge of the evidence board floating behind the men in the entryway.

“Sit down,” she crooned. “Sit, sit, sit.”

Everyone besides Damien and Kimmy sat down. The evidence board floated to the end of the table that Courtney was seated at. Damien and Kimmy followed it, both of them holding stacks of papers. Kimmy smiled down at Courtney as she settled the stack she was carrying on the table. She sat down across from Courtney and looked up expectantly at Damien.

Damien glanced around at the others before his gaze landed on Courtney. 

“Am I saying everything?” he asked uncertainly.

“If you’re comfortable,” Courtney shrugged. “You know it all best.”

“But we can jump in if you need us to,” Kimmy added in a whisper. 

Damien looked between the two women and nodded. He cleared his throat and let his attention rest on the other members in the room. Courtney saw him swallow before he began.

“I called this meeting,” he started slowly, “because I — we — figured out who the Shadow Killer is. We now know that they are…” he paused, “aptly named. The victims are the children of employees of the Shadow Agency, specifically the Orion Facility.”

Keith and Noah leaned in to get a better look at the board. Ian and Joe glanced at each other uneasily. Shayne looked at Damien intensely. Olivia’s mouth was ajar. Tommy, Sarah, and Matt shared a grim look.

Damien continued, avoiding looking anyone in the eye.

“A couple weeks ago, I tested a theory of how the murderer got into a fourth floor apartment without the camera seeing them and breaking anything.”

“How?” Olivia asked, fidgeting in her chair.

“They’re an Anomaly,” Damien answered.

“Invisibility? Walking through walls?” Noah wondered.

“I’m getting to it,” Damien said.

“Oh,” Noah chuckled softly.

“And no. The security footage showed nothing. The door never opened and no one ever reached their floor. So, the only option left is the window where they don’t have cameras.”

As he spoke, six pages came together in the air to form a picture. It was a diagram of the window of Underhill’s apartment. Everything was detailed carefully; the height from the ground, the width of the window, the possible areas to hide. In the picture, there was a stick figure of two people on the ground.

“We think we know what abilities the Anomaly has,” Damien sighed. He ran a hand through his hair. “We think — and I can’t stress that enough — we think it’s a telekinetic. Or something similar.”

The hovering diagram roamed to Damien’s side and he pointed to it as he spoke.

“In order to get up to the window, the killer had to climb forty-three feet. They could be someone with the abilities to climb walls, which would work. However,” Damien held up an article. “Casey Fuller wasn’t killed in the traditional way. She was found in the kitchen, along with a broken table and a hole in the wall. An Anomaly that can climb walls won’t do that kind of damage. If I’m right, and it is a telekinetic or something, then the broken table could be explained. And it’s possible that there was more than one, so being Spider-Man wouldn’t be as effective as one would hope in that situation.”

“Wait, could a telekinetic make the hole in the wall?” Sarah asked.

Damien shrugged, cocking his head. Now that he was getting into the facts, he was more comfortable with everyone’s eyes on him. 

“It’s possible, but judging by the crime scene,” Damien sighed. “It’s unlikely. Either there was another person and that was the only time they used their power or —” Damien stopped suddenly. He scratched the back of his neck. “Or the kid was an Anomaly too.”

The rest of the room was suddenly quiet. Courtney didn’t even realize that people were whispering until they stopped. Damien continued with another clearing of his throat.

“Again, I could be so far from the truth that it’s on the other side of the world,” Damien said, hands in the air. “This is all speculation and I have very little reason to believe I’m right.”

“What do you think?” Shayne asked tensely.

Courtney could see Shayne’s concern bubbling over. Whether it was for Damien, the next victim, or all of their sanity, she didn’t know.

Damien removed the top layer of papers on the board. Beneath every other piece of information were pictures of three flowers; an orange lily, a petunia, and a black rose. Next to each flower was a small list. He pointed to each flower in turn. 

“The orange lily can symbolize hate, pride, and contempt. The petunia means deep resentment and anger. The black rose symbolizes hatred and revenge. They’re left at every murder.”

Damien stepped away from the board, his face grim.

“So, what do we know for sure?” He began to pace a little as he spoke. “We know that this person has a grudge. We know that they’re able to enter the home silently and without making a mess. With the exception of the Fuller case, the parents didn’t notice anything odd in the middle of the night. Nothing was disturbed. We know that they had to be able to enter the fourth floor without using the front door. We know that the victims from the tenth and seventeenth of the month live relatively close to each other. We know the killer has a grudge.”

“So,” Keith chimed in. “They know someone in Orion. They’re angry.”

“Yes,” Damien nodded. “And we think we know who the next victim is. Gregory Lewis is a guard for Orion and lives outside of San Diego.”

“The only thing we don’t know is if he has a kid,” Kimmy cut in.

Damien looked around at everyone as they all took the information in. After a minute, Tommy looked up.

“Why are you telling us this?” he asked. “Do you want us to go stop a killer?”

Damien licked his lips anxiously before nodding.

“I think that we have to,” he said. “The police don’t know and they won’t do anything even if we give them the information. I think, if we want this kid to live, we need to step in. Tomorrow night.”

Whispers broke out amongst the group. Courtney glanced around anxiously; couldn’t they see that they needed to help? She saw Olivia looking at her with clear determination. 

“What if they’re not telekinetic?” Olivia asked curiously.

“Then I take full responsibility for being unprepared,” he declared. “I’m not going to pretend to say that I know everything about the murders. I don’t know if the killer is a telekinetic, or if Lewis is the next target. All I know is that I am the only chance this kid has if we’re right. If no one else wants to go with me, I understand completely, but I need to go.”

Courtney glanced around at the rest of the table. Everyone had a mix of shock, worry, and pride on their faces. She felt pride too. She was proud that Damien was doing what he thought was right. 

Courtney wanted to join him, but she wasn’t sure if she was the right choice. She could shapeshift, but what would she do in the house? Turn into a bear to fight the murderer off? That would get the job done, but it would attract more attention than they wanted. 

It was quiet for a few minutes. Everyone just studied the board, Damien, and each other. When the silence stretched to an uncomfortable length, Damien hunched his shoulders and nodded. A defeated look crossed his face and he stood up straighter. He opened his mouth, ready to speak again, but he wasn’t given the chance. 

Several people, including Courtney raised her hand. She looked over at Olivia, who had her hand high in the air too, with a grin. Shayne, Keith, Noah, and Sarah all had their hands in the air. Courtney saw Ian’s hand twitch, but it didn’t rise off of the table. That was understandable. They didn’t really want their leader going into any dangerous situations if they could avoid it. 

“Uh,” Tommy gasped dramatically. “I would totally raise my hand too, but I’m not very useful in the whole ‘murder scene’.”

Chuckles bled into the sentence. Damien broke into a smile as he looked around at them all. He chuckled once and rubbed his hands together in thought.

“Okay,” he said. “All right. Um… we don’t want too many people to go.”

Sarah took her hand down shrugging.

“I don’t know what I would do,” she said. 

“Make them feel less murderous,” Tommy supplied helpfully.

“That would help,” Shayne said, amused.

Damien hummed as he looked over the people to choose from. After a moment, he glanced over at Ian.

“How many people should go?”

Ian thought for a second.

“Three or four. We don’t want to be noticed too quickly,” Ian answered. “So, you for sure. Kieth for stealth, Shayne for protection.”

“What about Court?” Damien asked. “She worked on this with me. Sorry, Kimmy.”

“It’s all right, I get it,” Kimmy said. “I wouldn’t be able to do much.”

Ian glanced at Courtney before nodding. 

“I think it would work,” Ian agreed.

“For scouting or something,” Courtney commented.

“I wanna go,” Olivia exclaimed, waving her hand in the air. 

Courtney giggled as her eyes drifted between Ian and Olivia. Ian blew out an amused breath.

“All right, yeah, you can go,” he said.

“For attacking,” Olivia hissed.

“Right,” Shayne said slowly. He quickly shook his head, laughing to himself. “Sorry.”

Damien looked the group over seriously. 

“Thank you,” he whispered. Then, he cleared his throat and held up the list of names. “All right. We have an eight hour drive and we need to be there by tomorrow night. Pack up and get ready.”

The sound of chair legs scratching the floor rang in Courtney’s ears. Everyone filed out of the meeting room, chatting excitedly. Olivia hopped over to latch onto Courtney’s arm.

“This is so exciting,” she squeaked, making everyone around her laugh.


	25. Prepare to Strike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update is so late. I meant to post it earlier, but I kind of lost some motivation, but I'm back! This chapter is kind of just a filler, but the next chapter will be a lot better! I hope you're all doing okay and I love all of you!

**Damien**

After an eight hour car ride they reached a small motel in the outskirts of San Diego at one in the morning. On the drive, they had to find a place that didn’t require an id to stay the night. Most places need a form of identification nowadays, so they were lucky to find this place. 

They were all on edge. If any of them were recognized, they would be in hot water. Damien had tried to tell them to let him wait in the car, but there were cameras that had him in their line of sight. It would be safer for him to be with them in case anything went wrong. They found a hat in one of the seat pockets and he shoved it on his head. They could only hope that the employee didn’t recognize Damien from the news. At least he looked different from the picture they were still using. He wasn’t as thin and he had a dark beard and mustache coming in. His hair was longer and his skin was, while still very pale, wasn’t sickly looking.

Shayne led the group inside the tiny office to talk to the employee. Damien almost looked around the room for cameras, but that would defeat the purpose of hiding his face. Instead, he let the hum of the room wash over him. The flickering yellow lights released a similarly flickering energy; a buzz that pulsed in his skull. He felt a gentle nudge on his arm and he looked down. Olivia stared up at him and mouthed, ‘camera, behind us’. 

Damien nodded and felt around behind them. The camera was in the left corner, pointing towards the desk. He probed it a bit more and found that the paneling was damaged. There was a crack in the camera’s casing. Deciding that it would be best if there was no way for anyone to recognize him from the footage, he forced the casing apart, making the crack wider until he could feel his awareness slip into the wiring. 

His attention was taken away from the camera for a moment by Shayne. They reached the front desk where a woman was staring at them. Shayne inhaled and smiled.

“Hi, we need two rooms,” he said politely. 

“We only have one left,” the employee answered slowly. Her eyes raked over the group and Damien took a deep breath to calm his nerves. 

He split his attention on Shayne and began to work on the camera.

“How many beds does it have?” Shayne asked.

“Two,” the woman — Cara, Damien noticed on her name tag — said. “There might also be a cot in the closet.”

Shayne frowned and looked over his shoulder. Damien glanced at him. It was better than having to find another place. He nodded minutely.

“That’ll work,” Shayne said, turning back to Cara. 

“Do you know how long you’ll be staying?”

“No,” Shayne answered quickly. 

Damien focused his efforts on the camera. He had to block out the conversation for a moment in order to feel his way through the small space of the wiring. He followed a random wire all the way to the main body of the camera. He tested it and yanked it out. The buzzing energy that surrounded the device pulsed abruptly before stopping. A small, triumphant smile made its way on his face and he focused once more on Shayne and the employee.

“What’s the name going on the payment?” Cara drawled, pen over a big book.

“Shayne —” Shayne cut himself off. 

He couldn’t say his real name. It was entirely possible that the Shadow Agents were looking for him. Well, they were all being searched for really. Damien, thinking quickly, reached over, putting a hand on Shayne’s shoulder.

“Hey, man, I said that I’d pay for it,” Damien said. He changed his voice to a mockery of the ‘surfer dude’ voice. He turned to Cara, hat carefully placed to hide most of his face, with a bright smile. “Augustus Cloud.”

This made Cara pause uncertainly. Damien’s nerves jumped, but he kept up the facade. He could tell everyone in the group had tensed as well.

“Augustus Cloud…” Cara said slowly.

“Yeah,” Damien huffed in fake amusement. “It used to be Augustus St. Cloud, but I dropped the St. when I turned eighteen. Too pretentious in my opinion.”

He kept up the brilliant smile while casting out to see what else was in the room. Damien immediately noticed the button on the underside of the desk. A security button and her hand was resting beside it. Panic surged through him.

“Look, if you don’t believe me, I can get you my drivers licence, but I have to go get it from the car.”

Her hand still didn’t move and he shrugged.

“All right,” he said. “Just hang on a moment.”

He took a step backwards, but Cara stopped him.

“No need,” she drawled, her hand moving into their line of sight. “We don’t need it.”

She wrote the name in the book before taking out a key.

“You’re in room three. You have two days until checkout. Pay before you leave.”

Relief washed over Damien as if he was standing in a storm. They all thanked her, Shayne taking the key, before leaving. They went and got their bags to take to their room. None of them talked until they were in the room. 

Just like Cara said, there were two beds. There was also a small desk and a chair. Courtney checked the closet and there was a cot, along with extra blankets and pillows. 

“Oh, fuck,” Shayne breathed out as he closed the door. 

“Good acting, man,” Keith said, patting Damien on the back.

“I thought we were going to get caught for sure,” Damien sighed. “There was a security button, that’s why I bluffed with the licence.”

Damien sat in the chair while the other four sat on the beds. 

“Why would they have a security button?” Olivia asked. “This place can’t be used for legal reasons, right?”

“I mean I would want a button if someone is trying to rob the place,” Courtney chuckled. 

“We weren’t trying to rob the place,” Olivia pointed out.

“She might have thought she recognized me,” Damien sighed. “I wouldn’t blame her. I’m supposed to be a crazy killer, remember? I took care of the camera too, by the way.”

“How?”

“There was a crack in the panel,” Damien said. “I was able to open it up and follow the wires and yank one out. I guess I could’ve torn the camera out of the ceiling, but that would’ve freaked the employee out.”

“How did you know it shut the camera off?” Keith asked. 

“Every electronic produces an energy field around it,” Damien explained. “It disrupts the normal energy in the air. When it’s on, I feel it. When it’s off, it goes away.” 

“That’s so cool!” Olivia exclaimed.

Damien smiled at her in thanks. He looked around at everyone else and noticed how tired they all looked. He, too, was exhausted, but he knew he wasn’t going to be getting a lot of sleep tonight.

“Let’s call it a night,” he murmured. “We’ll talk about the plan in the morning.”

They all muttered in agreement. After everyone got ready to sleep, Courtney and Keith got the cot out and set up with an extra pillow and two blankets. Keith was going to sleep on it, but changed his mind when he saw how dirty it was. With a small smile, Damien said he would take it. Keith thanked him and jumped into the bed he was sharing with Shayne. 

The other four settled in and were soon asleep. If any of them noticed that Damien wasn’t joining them, they never said anything. He wanted to fall asleep, but he wanted to wait as long as he could before he had any nightmares. He couldn’t be sure if he would only jolt awake or shout in his sleep. He didn’t have as many dreams that made him cry out anymore, but he didn’t want to take the chance and wake them all up. 

Damien sighed softly and turned to his bag on the desk. He took out a small notebook that held all of the facts that Damien thought was important for this mission. He had jotted down as much information that he could find on Gregory Lewis, including the address. Damien thought about what they would do if it turned out that he didn’t have a kid. There wasn’t much they could do except leave and wait to try again the next time.

The idea of what they  _ would _ do if he had a kid is still something Damien was working on. He only had a skeleton of a plan in his head; who would go where and what they would do to protect the child. He still had to go over what they would do if — but more likely when — they meet the murderer. He had to go through and think about what they would do for every ability they could be challenged with. Damien knew he would have to act differently if they encounter a telekinetic than if they met a person who was invisible. It would also be a different plan of action if they met two people instead of one. 

Damien sat back in his chair and stared at the wall, but he didn’t really see it. He watched scenarios play out before him, his shoulders climbing higher with each one. He had to be ready for something that he had no knowledge about. He has to be able to change their course of action if something completely unexpected shows up. 

He was up for another two hours, staring at the beige wall. The questions of who would be where and how they should prepare were slipping from his exhausted mind. Damien finally gave up when he noticed he wasn’t thinking of anything anymore. He huffed, his joints creaking, as he got out of the chair. Luckily, he had changed earlier because, at the moment, he didn’t have the energy to do so. 

Damien spread a blanket out over the top of the cot to act as a sheet. It really was quite dirty and Damien wasn’t interested in having it rub off on his clothing. He laid down, pulling the second blanket over himself and closed his eyes. It only took a few minutes for sleep to claim him.

⤔

“Damien,” someone nudged his shoulder gently. “Damien.”

Opening his eyes, Damien was suddenly blinded by sunlight. He immediately took his hands out from under the blanket to cover his eyes. 

“Yeah?” he groaned tiredly.

The sound of an iced drink shaking in a plastic cup sounded by his feet. 

“Shayne and I got us all coffee,” Courtney said cheerfully.

“Okay,” he groaned, rubbing his face to wake himself up.

“When did you fall asleep?” he heard Shayne ask from the door. 

“I’m not sure,” Damien answered through a yawn. “Three-ish?”

“Three?” Courtney said. “Why were you up until three?”

Damien sat up, shrugging. 

“Couldn’t fall asleep.”

Courtney handed him his coffee and he took a sip, still trying to shake his exhaustion away. Everyone else, he noticed, looked better than he felt. They all seemed to have rested peacefully. It probably helped to have slept in a bed. 

Damien glanced at the small clock on the nightstand between the two beds.  _ 9:32  _ blinked back at him in thin, red lines. He sighed and got up from the cot. His back popped uncomfortably as he straightened. He went over to the desk, trading his coffee for fresh clothes. He made his way to the small bathroom to change. He splashed cold water on his face to force back the sleepiness that still clung to him. He left the bathroom to see everyone sitting down on the beds. They all looked at him expectantly and Damien knew it was time to work. He sunk into the desk chair and took a sip of his coffee.

“So,” Olivia started. “What’s the plan?”


	26. How to Save a Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, all! Sorry this is so late! I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to start it, but I finally got it. Hope you all like it!
> 
> TW: Fighting/Violence

**Everyone’s perspective (although it begins and ends in Shayne’s)**

The beginning of the day was simple enough. They managed to track down Gregory Lewis, who did have a kid; a daughter by the name of Abigail, who seemed to be about twelve. Shayne and Keith trailed them all day, looking out for anyone else suspicious. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except Mr. Lewis seemed tense. He was always looking over his shoulder and across the street. It made their surveillance harder, but it was a giveaway that Shayne was actually interested to see. 

The Shadow Agency knew that their employees were being hunted. Despite this, it didn’t seem like they offered the workers any additional protection… Shows how little they care. 

“This feels wrong,” Keith had commented. 

“I don’t really feel like tailing a little girl on her way to the park either, but it’s what Damien wants us to do,” Shayne replied without missing a beat. 

“No,” Keith said. “I mean, yeah, but no. I was talking about helping a Shadow Agent. We’ve been running from them ever since we knew we had our abilities.”

Shayne had hesitated for a moment.

“Yeah,” Shayne agreed after a moment. “I know.”

“But I guess someone’s gotta take the moral high ground,” Keith sighed. “Better us than someone who will attach strings to it.”

The two of them followed the family all day. They walked or drove wherever they went without being noticed. It was interesting to see a Shadow Guard interacting with his family. He was smiling with his husband and daughter like any other normal family. If Shayne didn’t know better, he wouldn’t think that Lewis worked in a secret federal prison.

Damien checked in on them periodically, asking about any odd behavior from strangers. There was nothing to report, so they were called back to the motel at around four. 

Once the sun went down, the work really began. They piled into the car and passed the house once, twice, three times before Damien could come up with a solid plan. That was another reason that Shayne was hesitant; the plan was made up at the last moment. It didn’t stop the other man from making it as airtight as possible, though. 

The plan, though well thought out on Damien’s part, was not one that filled Shayne with confidence. There were too many variables and too many endings that include severe injury. It was incredibly hard to be optimistic when there was no way of knowing what they would be greeted with.

They slipped their masks on, parked a block away, and got to their positions. It was easy for Damien to get them inside, which meant that it was probably easy for the attacker to get in. Courtney, who had shifted into a crow, was sitting in the oak tree that was sitting in the Lewis’s front yard. She would take flight every once in a while and then fly back as a different type of animal to throw off any suspicion. Olivia was positioned on the roof of the ranch-style house, facing the backyard. She hid behind the chimney, watching for anyone coming into the house from the back door. Keith was in the daughter’s room so that he could protect her if the murderer came in through her window. He had protested, but he was the best candidate in case the girl woke up. Damian was in the hallway that led to both bedrooms. He was the line of defence after Shayne, who was pacing between the living room and kitchen. 

The entire house was quiet. The Lewis family slept soundly and had no idea that three strangers were in their house. There was no sound; not even a cricket chirped under a windowsill. Not even a neighbor’s dog barked, which was good, but it was eerie. 

The temptation to sit down grew as minutes turned into hours. Shayne and Damien’s endless pacing was broken up by periods of stretching. Keith was crouching in a corner of the daughter’s bedroom so that he could keep an eye on the window and door. He kept himself camouflaged and tried to ignore how weird it was to be in a kid’s room. His eyes never left the dark sky outside so that he didn’t breach Abigail’s privacy. Olivia and Courtney shifted uneasily as the breeze started to pick up around them. 

Damien kept tapping his chin irritably. The ‘what if’ scenarios popped up in his head one after the other. What if he got everything wrong? What if one of them gets hurt? What if Gregory wakes up and calls in a bunch of Shadow Agents? 

Shayne wasn’t doing a whole lot better. He kept walking up to every window and peering through them into the night. He hated the waiting game. Usually, he didn’t mind waiting, but this was a bit different. He restlessly created small globes, molding them into different shapes. 

However, the night wasn’t going to remain quiet. It was Courtney who noticed it first. 

Around three in the morning, a shadow was slinking across the yard. They stepped into the yard and Cortney dove off the branch she was perched on. She was nothing but a streak of, now red, feathers as she flew past the window. It was the signal that told Damien, who’s hallway was behind the window, that someone had arrived.

Damien inhaled deeply, readying himself for a fight. He strained his ears to listen for the front door opening, but heard nothing except the ringing in his ears. The silence pressed in on him, much like the darkness of the house, but he pushed through the discomfort. 

He was still listening for a door to open when a dark figure stepped into the hallway. The only characteristic Damien could make out was that the person was shorter than him. They looked like they were covered in shadows. No matter how much Damien tried to push it away, his eyes couldn’t pierce through the darkness surrounding them. 

There was no time to linger on the peculiar sight, however. The other person rushed forward to attack him. He saw the blow coming for his abdomen and managed to block it. He pushed them back and swung an arm back, aiming a punch for their stomach. His hand, however, never hit them. Well, actually, it went through them. 

Shock made Damien hesitate. The other figure took advantage of his pause and kicked him back. The blow knocked some of the air from his lungs. He was able to catch himself, his back colliding with a sudden wall of seized energy, before he landed on the ground. He pushed himself onto his feet with little difficulty, but the person was already moving again.

Damien took another blow to his abdomen, knocking him to his knees. He saw the foot coming for his face and instinctively grabbed it before it made contact. He yanked it and forced the person onto the ground. They grunted as they landed on the floor, but was quick to kick Damien off. They tumbled on the ground for a minute until they both found themselves on their feet.

Damien growled as he held off the attacker.  _ Where was Shayne _ ?

Shayne had heard a loud thud come from the hallway Damien was guarding and was just about to leave the kitchen. But the sound of the window opening stopped him. Before he could turn around, something bashed into the side of his head.

Shayne crumpled to the ground, disoriented for a second. He had enough sense to throw up a hand to generate a barrier. Good thing too, because he heard and felt something bang on it. He was too busy shaking away the haziness in his head to notice what it was. There was more pounding on the barrier, but Shayne didn’t let it buckle under the pressure. 

He got to his feet and turned to face the intruder. 

They were smaller than Shayne, both in stature and build. It looked like they were made of shadows; they had no discernable features. They gave their ability away though. It was clear they were a telekinetic when a pot smashed into the invisible wall. 

Without a sliver of hesitation, Shayne took down the barrier and charged at the figure. He didn’t get very far, however. Shayne felt himself freeze without his command before he was flung back. He collided with the wall harshly and slid down to the floor. He grunted, but didn’t get to think about whether or not his back hurt. Something — a utensil drawer judging by the silverware falling from it — was thrown at him. Shayne conjured another barrier just before it reached him. He blew out a sigh of relief.

The other person was crossing the kitchen slowly. They lifted a hand and Shayne braced himself for the force that would burden the barrier. 

Suddenly, the back door was blown open and Olivia dove in. She rammed into the person’s chest, forcing them to the floor with a shout. 

Shayne winced at the noise; it was surely enough to wake the whole house up. Despite this, no one entered the kitchen to see what was happening. He knew that Olivia should’ve stayed outside, but he was thankful to have some help.

Olivia got to her feet, her hands held in front of her. The entire room — maybe even the house — shook with the strength of the gust of wind she produced. It whipped through the kitchen, banging everything together and knocking things to the floor. The figure was pinned to the wall, arms spread out beside him. 

Shayne’s relief was short lived, however. A toaster was hovering in the air above its place on the counter. 

“Olivia —” Shayne called out, but he was too late. 

The toaster hit Olivia in the side, surprising her more than it hurt her. It was enough to make her stumble to the side, towards where Shayne was getting to his feet. The two SMOSH members breathed heavily, thinking of what to do next. 

_ What was Damien doing _ ? Shayne thought to himself as he got into a defensive stance. They needed help.

Damien needed help. He blocked another blow — this time to the head — but knew better than to attack right away. Damien had never faced an Anomaly like this in his time in Orion. He wasn’t prepared to fight someone like this. There was nothing he could utilize except an umbrella stand. He didn’t know what to do. 

Damien tried to get a hold of the figure, but it wasn’t working. Every time he cast his awareness out, he lost his grip on the person as they became intangible. They blended in with the rest of the energy of the room so that Damien began to manipulate their atoms before they slipped away. 

All of the noise reached Keith, who leapt up from his crouch in the corner. He didn’t dare leave the girl’s room, although he was sorely tempted to; he could hear Damien struggling in the hallway beyond the door. He looked between the door muffling the sounds of a fight and the window. He sighed and made himself visible. It wouldn’t be good if someone came in here and the girl was still in bed. 

Keith stepped over to the bed and gently shook Abigail awake. She stirred, but didn’t wake. Keith went to shake her again, but there was a loud bang from somewhere in the house. Abigail gasped awake and sat up, looking around. Keith held his breath as he waited for the girl to spot him. 

Abigail’s eyes bulged when she saw him. She threw the blankets off and scooted back to press herself against the headboard. She opened her mouth to scream, but Keith covered her mouth quickly.

“Look, I know I’m a stranger, okay,” Keith said in a hushed voice. “I’m not here to hurt you, but someone else is.”

Abigail’s eyes widened even more, panic sweeping through them.

“You’re the next victim,” Keith said against his better judgment. It was better to get it all out so that the girl wouldn’t argue with him. “I’m here with a few of my friends to protect you, but it sounds like they’re having some trouble. Can you hear that?”

Keith paused long enough for the noise to reach them. Abigail nodded, fear still present on her face. 

“I promise that I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Keith continued. “I’m going to take my hand off of your mouth, okay? I need you to stay quiet.”

Again, Abigail nodded. Keith held in a worried sigh and took his hand away from her. 

“Now,” Keith began calmly. “Do you have anywhere to hide?”

The girl looked around the room and her eyes landed on her closet.

“I have a secret room in my closet,” Abigail whispered tearfully. “It’s behind a bunch of clothes.”

Keith nodded.

“Good,” he said. “I want you to hide there. You can’t come out unless you hear me tell you, or until you hear your parents calling for you. Can you do that?”

Abigail nodded quickly and hurried to her closet. She went in and Keith watched as she crawled into a hidden space behind her clothing. He made sure she was actually out of sight before closing the closet. Then, he took some pillows and an extra blanket and shoved them under the covers on the girl’s bed. Hopefully, it looked enough like a person to fool whoever came through the door. 

Keith looked around before camouflaging himself again. He stepped into the corner again and waited. 

In the parents’ bedroom, all was quiet. Well, no… the bangs and shouts reached them too, but the men didn’t stir. A person stood at the foot of their bed, head cocked and a hand held before them. In the other hand, there were three, familiar flowers. They too had shadows swimming across their skin, but they were taller than both of the other intruders. They listened for another moment, the shadows swirling to imitate a smirk inching onto his face.

Their hand dropped and they walked out of the bedroom. They saw their partner fighting in the hallway with the other telekinetic. The man was doing rather well considering he had very little chance beating his friend. They toppled to the floor with a loud thud just as the newest figure got to the little girl’s bedroom. 

The man looked at them, eyes wide, from his place on the floor.

“No!” he hollered. “Keith —”

It was no use. Hands crept up to Damien’s throat, and he reacted instantly. He forced the person pinning him off and tried to land another blow on them. 

The thud in the hallway was paired with a crash in the kitchen. Shayne and Olivia had just been thrown onto the kitchen table, which burst into pieces at the contact. The two stayed on the tiled floor, panting. Shayne glanced at Olivia beside him, eyeing the cut she had on her forehead. Their masks had fallen off a while ago in some other crash.

He looked up in time to see the knife block swing off of the counter. The knives were unsheathed and Shayne didn’t need to be a seer to know what happened next. He rolled over, covering Olivia’s body with his own, and created a dome around them. He flinched as every blade tried to stab through the barrier. 

In Abigail’s bedroom, Keith watched a shadowy figure step in through the door. He had heard Damien call his name and held his breathTheir head swiveled around, gazing through the room, finding nothing amiss. They rushed over to the bed and tore the blanket back. Just as Keith thought, they weren’t going to do it as delicately as they would otherwise. There was a terrible growl as it was revealed that the girl was not in the bed. 

They took a step towards the closet and Keith leapt on them. He snaked an arm around the neck and held on for dear life. The figure tried to shake him off, but Keith’s hold remained strong. It wasn’t until they dropped to the floor, crushing Keith between them and the floor, that he let go. 

Keith sucked in a breath, wincing at the ache in his ribs. He saw the figure pick themselves up, swaying slightly. They took half a step back when they didn’t see Keith on the floor. 

Keith held in a groan and rolled away. He wanted to keep up the advantage for as long as he could. He inhaled as deeply as he could, flinching again, and got to his feet. The other kicked the ground, right where Keith’s chest had been moments prior. He bent his knees and charged at them. 

The two of them crashed onto the floor with matching grunts of pain. The figure struggled beneath a still invisible Keith, seemingly confused. Keith brought an elbow down on their face and was rewarded with a raged howl of pain. 

He was pushed off of them, but he caught himself before he collided with the floor. Keith lifted his hands, ready to continue fighting. However, the other figure looked around frantically, not ready to fend Keith off again.

There was another low growl before they left. Keith’s shoulder slumped in relief, but he didn’t let his guard down. 

In the hall, Damien landed on the floor again. He groaned in pain, flashes of his fights in Orion both helping and hindering him. He stayed down for a second, collecting his thoughts and breath. He watched the figure stalk forward, glancing at the umbrella stand behind them. He reached out and pulled on the object. It raced toward them and slammed into the person’s back. There was a cry as they fell. 

Damien took his chance and lunged at them. Somehow, they were quicker than he was. He meant to tackle them, but he just dove through them as if they were made of air. He skidded across the wooden floor, flipping onto his back. 

His opponent jumped on him immediately, solid once more. Their hands were on his neck again. Damien choked down his panic and tried to buck them off. They weren’t letting go and tightening their hold.

“Shayne! Keith!” Damien called, but he knew they were probably fighting their own battles. “Courtney!”

He called out weakly, but there was little else he could do. Memories of his challenges swam in his mind. He felt the familiar rush of panic and anger. The pleading gasps that Damien released were mixed with the taunting replies of Dr. Forrestor. He tried to shake the past away.

Damien couldn’t do this now. He had to focus on the real enemy that was suffocating him. He tried one last time to fling the person off, but they didn’t budge.

Then, there was a flash of brown fur and a loud growling. A screech followed by a bark. 

Courtney had heard his call. She had swooped off of her perch on the tree and went around to the back to see if it was open. She did — zooming past the three people in the kitchen to the hall where Damien was. Upon seeing the person on top of him, she shifted into a big dog. 

Courtney lunged and took the figure’s arm into a harsh bite. She dragged them off of Damien and barked loudly. Behind the person, Keith stepped out of the bedroom. Snuck up on the figure and swung an arm. The hit caught them in the shoulder, knocking them forward. 

In the kitchen, Shayne had barely noticed Courtney flying through the room. He was too busy trying not to let Mr. Shadowman compress his own barrier around him. 

Shayne wasn’t very successful in that effort. He and Olivia were on their knees, bent low to the ground. The pressure continued to climb and Shayne was helpless to stop it. He had never encountered someone who could use his barriers like any other object. He decided he didn’t like being constricted with his own creation.

He hadn’t even noticed the other figure walk in through the back door until they stopped in front of them. They’re taunting him, Shayne decided.

“Sorry, Olivia,” Shayne murmured.

He missed the way the person in front of him jerked back when he spoke.

“‘S’kay,” Olivia squeaked out. “Tried.”

Shayne didn’t miss the figure stepping back.

“Wait,” they said. 

Suddenly, the barrier surrounding them was flung away from them with such force that it almost made the other two fall back. 

“Leave,” they said. “We’re done here.”

Shayne  _ knew _ that voice. He glanced at Olivia to see the same stricken look on her face. They eyed the figure in confusion.

“ _ Anthony _ ?”

The figure stopped in the doorway. They turned to look over their shoulder, the shadows melting away from their face. There he stood; Anthony Padilla, who should have been dead, was there. 

The expression on his face was burned in Shayne and Olivia’s mind. A mix of hatred, longing, relief, and something dark leered back at them. 

He didn’t say anything else before he was gone. 

Shayne couldn’t move. Everything from the past two years was a lie. How was he supposed to process that. His mind stuttered, blank. He didn’t even register footsteps until the owner was right next to his head.

“Shayne, Olivia!” Courtney said. “Are you all right?”

He felt someone grab under his arms and help haul him up. He wobbled on his feet, but Keith’s hand on his shoulder steadied him. 

“Shayne?” Damien said, concerned. 

Shayne didn’t answer, instead looking down at Olivia. She had the same stricken look he was sure he had.

“Can you all run?” Courtney asked.

“We’ll manage,” Shayne gasped out. He looked at Keith. “Is she —?”

“Abigail’s safe,” Keith reassured. “She ran into her parents’ room after I fought off Mr. Ghost.”

They should tell them who they saw, but how could they? It… He… It couldn’t have been real.  _ He was supposed to be dead _ .

“We need to go,” Courtney said. “There’s sirens.”

They didn’t waste any time getting out of the house. They jogged (some limped) the block to the car, their thoughts whirlwinds in their minds. But their night wasn’t over.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave suggestions, criticisms, or general comments! They'll really help me out and I'd love to read them! Thank you for reading and I can't wait to continue updating.


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